Picture a fabric so vital that its global harvest blankets 33.8 million hectares, spins into $120 billion for the world economy, and clothes the livelihoods of 350 million people across more than a hundred nations.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022/23, global cotton production reached 25.58 million metric tons, up 11% from the previous year due to improved yields in major producers
- China's cotton production in 2022/23 was 5.92 million metric tons, representing 23.1% of world total and driven by Xinjiang region's dominance
- India produced 6.99 million metric tons of cotton in 2022/23, making it the largest producer with yields averaging 436 kg per hectare
- In 2022/23, global cotton mill use is projected at 25.8 million metric tons, up 8% year-on-year driven by apparel demand recovery
- China's cotton consumption reached 8.3 million tons in 2022/23, 32% of world total with domestic mills at 90% capacity
- India's cotton mill use was 6.2 million tons in 2022/23, supporting 45 million spindles and exports to Bangladesh
- In 2022/23, global cotton exports totaled 19.2 million metric tons, valued at $16.5 billion, up 12% in volume
- US exported 3.35 million tons of cotton in 2022/23, 47% of production to 48 countries
- Brazil's cotton exports surged to 3.1 million tons in 2022/23, mainly to China and Vietnam worth $2.8 billion
- Cotton contributes $120 billion annually to global GDP through value chain
- US cotton industry generated $25 billion economic impact in 2022, supporting 500,000 jobs
- India's cotton sector worth $50 billion in 2022/23, 10% of textile exports
- Cotton employs 350 million people worldwide across 100+ countries in 2022
- Global cotton uses 2.4% of world's arable land and 16 trillion liters water annually
- Pesticide use in cotton 24% of global agricultural total despite 2% cropland, 2022 data
Global cotton production increased significantly in 2022/23, led by India and China.
Consumption
- In 2022/23, global cotton mill use is projected at 25.8 million metric tons, up 8% year-on-year driven by apparel demand recovery
- China's cotton consumption reached 8.3 million tons in 2022/23, 32% of world total with domestic mills at 90% capacity
- India's cotton mill use was 6.2 million tons in 2022/23, supporting 45 million spindles and exports to Bangladesh
- Pakistan consumed 2.1 million tons of cotton in 2022/23 for its 450,000 spindles and 45,000 looms
- Bangladesh imported 3.5 million tons equivalent for spinning in 2022/23, consuming 80% imported cotton
- Vietnam's cotton consumption hit 1.8 million tons in 2022/23, fueling garment exports worth $44 billion
- Turkey used 1.4 million tons domestically in 2022/23, with towel and apparel sectors dominant
- US cotton consumption by mills was 1.2 million tons in 2022/23, down due to offshoring
- Indonesia consumed 1.1 million tons in 2022/23 for textile industry employing 1.5 million
- Brazil's mill use grew to 650,000 tons in 2022/23, up 10% with denim production boom
- Thailand imported 500,000 tons for consumption in 2022/23, supporting home textile exports
- Egypt consumed 300,000 tons in 2022/23, 90% local for spinning and weaving
- Global yarn production from cotton was 35 million tons in 2022
- China's yarn output used 7.5 million tons cotton in 2022/23 at 80% utilization
- India's spinning capacity spun 23 million tons equivalent in 2022/23
- World apparel cotton content averaged 25% by weight in 2022
- EU-27 cotton consumption was 1.5 million tons in 2022/23 for luxury fashion
- Japan's imports for consumption totaled 400,000 tons in 2022/23
- Mexico consumed 450,000 tons in 2022/23, integrated with US supply chains
- Cambodia's garment sector used 700,000 tons cotton equivalent in 2022/23
- Global home textile cotton use was 4.2 million tons in 2022/23
- Bangladesh spinning mills capacity reached 15 million tons/year in 2023, consuming mostly imported cotton
- Turkey's denim consumption used 600,000 tons cotton in 2022/23
- Iran's mills consumed 250,000 tons local cotton in 2022/23
- Uzbekistan exported raw cotton but consumed 200,000 tons domestically in 2022/23
- South Korea imported 350,000 tons for high-end textiles in 2022/23
- Peru consumed 120,000 tons Pima cotton in 2022/23 for premium fabrics
- World cotton fabric production was 28 million tons in 2022
Consumption Interpretation
While the world's wardrobe is increasingly sewn in Asia, with China and India spinning a third of our collective threads, the global cotton mill's hum tells a tale of resilient demand, intricate supply chains, and a fabric that still holds a quarter of our apparel by weight.
Economics
- Cotton contributes $120 billion annually to global GDP through value chain
- US cotton industry generated $25 billion economic impact in 2022, supporting 500,000 jobs
- India's cotton sector worth $50 billion in 2022/23, 10% of textile exports
- China's cotton processing industry valued at $100 billion in 2022, employing 20 million
- Global cotton market size $44 billion in 2022, projected to $60 billion by 2030 at 4% CAGR
- Brazil cotton farmgate value $4.5 billion in 2022/23 from 3.8 million tons
- Pakistan cotton economy $15 billion including ginning and textiles in 2022/23
- World Bank estimates cotton poverty reduction impact at 2.5% GDP growth in low-income producers
- US farm cash receipts from cotton $7.5 billion in 2022
- Turkey's cotton chain contributes 5% to GDP, $10 billion exports in 2022
- Burkina Faso cotton accounts for 35% of export earnings, $1 billion in 2022/23
- Global textile trade $1 trillion, cotton 24% share in 2022
- India's 11 million farmers earn $20 billion from cotton annually
- Cotton price volatility cost farmers $2 billion globally in 2022 due to Ukraine war
- US Cotton Trust Protocol verified $10 billion production in 2022
- Mali cotton revenue $800 million in 2022/23 for 4 million farmers
- Global subsidies to cotton $5 billion annually, 80% to US/EU/China
- Bangladesh garment exports $45 billion in 2022/23, 60% cotton-based
- Australian cotton farm income averaged $1,200/ha in 2022/23
- World cottonseed oil market $3 billion in 2022 from byproducts
- Vietnam textile GDP contribution 16%, $40 billion cotton-linked in 2022
- Egypt cotton exports $1.5 billion in 2022/23 from high-value varieties
- Global organic cotton market $2.5 billion in 2022, premium pricing 30% higher
Economics Interpretation
While cotton may be a light and fluffy fiber, its economic weight is anything but, as it threads together a colossal global fabric of livelihoods, trade wars, and staggering statistics that prove this humble plant is, pound for pound, the heavyweight champion of agricultural economics.
Production
- In 2022/23, global cotton production reached 25.58 million metric tons, up 11% from the previous year due to improved yields in major producers
- China's cotton production in 2022/23 was 5.92 million metric tons, representing 23.1% of world total and driven by Xinjiang region's dominance
- India produced 6.99 million metric tons of cotton in 2022/23, making it the largest producer with yields averaging 436 kg per hectare
- The United States cotton production for 2022/23 totaled 3.89 million metric tons from 4.1 million hectares planted, with an average yield of 948 kg/ha
- Brazil's cotton output in 2022/23 hit a record 3.82 million metric tons, boosted by Mato Grosso state's expansion to 1.9 million hectares
- Pakistan harvested 2.31 million metric tons of cotton in 2022/23 from Punjab and Sindh provinces despite pest challenges
- Turkey produced 810,000 metric tons of cotton in 2022/23, primarily from the Aegean region with irrigated fields yielding 1,200 kg/ha
- Australia's cotton production reached 1.23 million metric tons in 2022/23, with 96% irrigated and average yield of 2,300 kg/ha
- Uzbekistan's state-controlled cotton production was 1.15 million metric tons in 2022/23 from 1.3 million hectares
- Burkina Faso produced 950,000 metric tons in 2022/23, Africa's top with rainfed farming on 800,000 hectares
- Mali's cotton yield improved to 1,400 kg/ha in 2022/23, producing 850,000 metric tons from smallholder farms
- Tanzania's cotton production was 620,000 metric tons in 2022/23, up 20% with government seed programs
- Global cotton area harvested in 2022/23 was 33.8 million hectares, down 2% but yields up 13% to 757 kg/ha
- India's Gujarat state led with 2.5 million metric tons from 2.6 million hectares in 2022/23 at 960 kg/ha yield
- US upland cotton yield averaged 950 kg/ha in 2022/23 across 3.9 million hectares planted
- Brazil's cottonseed production reached 7.5 million tons in 2022/23, byproduct of lint output
- Pakistan's cotton area was 2.2 million hectares in 2022/23, yielding 1,050 kg/ha despite pink bollworm issues
- Turkmenistan produced 1.2 million metric tons from state farms in 2022/23
- Benin produced 700,000 metric tons in 2022/23, key export crop for 70% of rural households
- Côte d'Ivoire cotton output was 1.1 million tons in 2022/23 from 900,000 hectares
- World cotton production forecast for 2023/24 is 26.1 million tons, up 2%
- China's Xinjiang produced 5.2 million tons in 2022/23, 88% of national total using machine harvesting
- Greece's cotton production was 185,000 tons in 2022/23 from 120,000 ha at high yield of 1,540 kg/ha
- Iran produced 350,000 tons in 2022/23 amid water shortages
- Syria's pre-conflict production was 300,000 tons, down to 100,000 in 2022/23
- Global organic cotton production was 240,000 tons in 2021/22 from 450,000 ha in 18 countries
- India's Bt cotton covered 95% of area in 2022/23, boosting yields to 450 kg/ha nationally
- US Pima cotton production was 120,000 tons in 2022/23 from 14,000 ha
- Brazil expanded cotton area by 15% to 2 million ha in 2022/23
- Egypt produced 330,000 tons of extra-long staple cotton in 2022/23 from Nile Delta
Production Interpretation
The global cotton industry, in a display of agricultural one-upmanship, saw record-breaking yields transform fields from Texas to Xinjiang into fluffy white battlegrounds, though this bounty masks a patchwork of challenges from thirsty crops in Iran to resilient pests in Pakistan.
Sustainability
- Cotton employs 350 million people worldwide across 100+ countries in 2022
- Global cotton uses 2.4% of world's arable land and 16 trillion liters water annually
- Pesticide use in cotton 24% of global agricultural total despite 2% cropland, 2022 data
- Organic cotton area grew 15% to 500,000 ha in 2022, 2% of total production
- Xinjiang machine picking reduced labor but increased plastic pollution by 260,000 tons/year
- Global cotton GHG emissions 220 million tons CO2e annually, 5% of textiles
- Water use per kg cotton lint averages 10,000 liters globally, improved to 7,000 in efficient systems
- Better Cotton Initiative certified 25% of global production in 2022, 6.8 million tons
- Soil degradation affects 33% of cotton lands due to monocropping, per ICAC 2022
- US cotton recycling rate 85% in 2022, diverting 2.5 million tons from landfills
- India's rainwater harvesting in cotton fields saved 20% water in Gujarat 2022 trials
- Global microplastic from cotton polyester blends 0.5 million tons/year to oceans
- Bt cotton reduced pesticide use 37% globally since 1996, saving $200 billion
- Australian cotton water efficiency 1.3 megaliters per ton lint in 2022/23
- Child labor in cotton harvesting down 75% since 2000, but 170,000 cases in 2022
- Regenerative cotton practices on 1 million ha globally in 2022 sequestered 500,000 tons CO2
- Pakistan's pink bollworm resistance led to 20% yield loss, prompting GM approvals 2023
- Global cotton biodiversity loss from 80% monoculture in top producers
- Textile Exchange reports recycled cotton content in apparel up to 5% in 2022
- West Africa sustainable cotton platforms cover 80% production, reducing inputs 15%
- US cotton carbon footprint 2.2 kg CO2e per kg lint in 2022, down 30% since 2010
- Drip irrigation in Brazil cotton saved 40% water, adopted on 50% area in 2022/23
- Global cotton worker wages average $0.50/hour, below living wage by 50%
Sustainability Interpretation
Cotton's global embrace supports 350 million livelihoods but is stained by a thirst for resources, as it drinks 16 trillion liters annually, poisons with a quarter of the world's pesticides, and warms the climate with 220 million tons of CO2, yet the threads of progress—from recycling and regenerative farming to wage struggles—show the fabric of this industry is still being woven, for better or worse.
Trade
- In 2022/23, global cotton exports totaled 19.2 million metric tons, valued at $16.5 billion, up 12% in volume
- US exported 3.35 million tons of cotton in 2022/23, 47% of production to 48 countries
- Brazil's cotton exports surged to 3.1 million tons in 2022/23, mainly to China and Vietnam worth $2.8 billion
- India's raw cotton exports were 1.1 million tons in 2022/23 despite bans, valued at $1.2 billion
- Australia exported 1.1 million tons in 2022/23 to 20 markets, premium fiber at $2.5/kg average
- Pakistan exported 1.6 million tons of yarn and fabric but raw imports netted
- China's cotton imports reached 2.1 million tons in 2022/23 under quotas, mostly US and Brazil
- Turkey exported 800,000 tons raw cotton equivalent in products to EU in 2022/23
- Uzbekistan exported 900,000 tons raw cotton in 2022/23 to Turkey and China
- Burkina Faso exported 650,000 tons in 2022/23 to Vietnam and Indonesia, 40% of GDP
- Mali's cotton exports were 750,000 tons in 2022/23 via Sodecoton
- US-China trade phase one deal imported 800,000 tons US cotton in 2022/23
- Vietnam imported 3.2 million tons cotton in 2022/23 for re-export garments
- Bangladesh raw cotton imports totaled 3.4 million tons in 2022/23 from India and US
- Global cotton trade value hit $25 billion in 2022 including semi-processed
- Brazil-China bilateral cotton trade reached 2.5 million tons in 2022/23
- EU imported 1.2 million tons raw cotton in 2022/23 for textile industry
- Pakistan's yarn exports were 1.2 million tons in 2022/23 to China
- West Africa's C-4 countries (Benin, Burkina, Mali, Chad) exported 2.2 million tons in 2022/23
- Indonesia imported 1.0 million tons cotton in 2022/23
- Top 10 exporters shipped 85% of global cotton trade in 2022/23
- India's cotton exports to Bangladesh were 900,000 tons in 2022/23
- US upland cotton exports to Vietnam 1.2 million tons in 2022/23
- Global cotton futures price averaged 85 cents/lb in 2022/23 on ICE
Trade Interpretation
While the U.S. and Brazil duel for supremacy atop a $25 billion global cotton bale, the true fabric of this industry is woven from a complex pattern where Vietnam and Bangladesh voraciously import to clothe the world, West African nations tether their fragile economies to a single fluffy fiber, and every thread—from Australia’s premium picks to Pakistan’s paradoxical trade—reveals a tightly interconnected, and perilously stretched, supply chain.
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