Paru dans Bloomberg

Prolonged Monsoon Delays India's Cotton Harvest, Slows Exports

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- A prolonged rainy season has delayed cotton harvests in India, the world's biggest grower after China, reducing exports, the nation's biggest buyer of the fiber said.

Picking is behind schedule by at least three weeks in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the biggest producers of the fiber, Subhash Grover, managing director of the Cotton Corp. of India, said in a phone interview in Mumbai today.

A delay in sales to countries including China, the biggest producer and user of cotton, may help support prices that have fallen 35 percent in the past six months in New York. The South Asian country is the biggest exporter of the fiber after the U.S.

``Traders are not signing export contracts as local prices are higher than global rates,'' Grover said. ``Indian cotton is at least 3 cents a pound more expensive'' after the recent slump in prices of commodities worldwide.

Cotton futures for December delivery rose 3 percent to 51.77 cents a pound in after-hours trading on the ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Futures slumped 14 percent last week to a 16-month low.

Prices in India have gained 9 percent in past six months, according to the Cotton Association of India, a trade body.

India's June-September monsoon season, which accounts for four-fifths of the annual rainfall, began retreating from Sept. 29, almost a month later than normal, according to the weather office. Rains were 107 percent of the long-period average in the northwestern region including Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Late harvesting won't lower the size of India's crop that's forecast to exceed last year's record 31.5 million bales, Grover said. Production may total 33 million bales in the year started Oct. 1, compared with an estimated 31.5 million bales last year, Textiles Commissioner A.B. Joshi, said Sept. 25.

India's Cotton Advisory Board will release its first crop estimate on Oct. 16.

China Demand

India, which probably sold 8.5 million bales abroad in the year ended Sept. 30, may have at least 6 million bales available for exports this year, Grover said. An Indian bale weighs 170 kilograms (375 pounds) and 480 pounds in the U.S.

``Exports may pick up again from the end of November as deficit countries like China will turn to India,'' Grover said.

China's cotton imports may decline next year if a slowing global economy weakens demand for the nation's textile products, Ma Zhanping, deputy director of trade and economics at the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday.

India boosted planting of genetically modified cotton seeds by a fifth to 17.2 million acres this year, or 76 percent of the total cotton acreage, from 14.4 million acres, or 63 percent, a year earlier, according to Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd.

The nation's average per-hectare yield has almost doubled to 560 kilograms since the nation allowed farmers to use modified seeds for the first time in 2002.

Paru dans China View

China takes measures to stabilize cotton price

   　BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will take multiple steps to combat the falling price of cotton, according to National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC), the country's top economy planner.

    Market statistics showed that the purchase price of standard cotton averaged 12,553 yuan per tonne (1,838 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday. That is 68 yuan lower than the previous trading day.

    The figure was down 677 yuan or 5.1 percent from the same trading period last year.

    "Both short-term and long-term measures are needed to stabilize the price of cotton, so as to protect the nation's cotton production as well as the interests of farmers," said NDRC's tradeand commerce official Ma Zhanping at a cotton forum on Monday.

    According to Ma, the country will encourage commercial banks and rural credit institutions to provide more loans to fund cotton purchases.

    China is also expected to purchase more cotton and put it in a state reserve in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in hopes of slowing down falling cotton prices.

    Xinjiang is China's largest cotton producer. Its output accounts for 36 percent of the country's total cotton in 2007.

    As of August 2008, state departments had purchased 65,800 tonnes of cotton.

    Ma said the country was also working on a plan to strengthen financial support for farmers, which could include subsidies.

    "The textile industry has been suffering from shrinking global market demand. By giving subsidies to farmers, we could support the cotton industry while avoiding putting more pressures on textile and garment manufacturers," said Ma.

Paru dans Xinhuanet

La Chine prend des mesures pour stabiliser les prix du coton

BEIJING, 14 octobre (Xinhua) -- La Chine prendra plusieurs  mesures afin de faire face à la chute des prix du coton, a annoncé mardi la Commission d'Etat pour le Développement et la Réforme.  

Les statistiques du marché montrent que les prix d'achat du  coton ordinaire étaient de 12 553 yuans (1 838 dollars) par tonne  en moyenne mardi. Il s'agit d'une chute de 677 yuans (-5,1%) par  rapport à la même période de l'année passée.  

"Les mesures à court terme et à long terme ont toutes pour but  de stabiliser les prix du coton afin de protéger la production de  coton du pays ainsi que les intérêts des paysans", a dit mardi Ma  Zhangping, un responsable de la Commission d'Etat pour le  Développement et la Réforme lors d'un forum sur le coton.  

D'après M. Ma, la Chine encouragera les banques commerciales et les institutions de crédit rurales à accorder davantage de prêts  afin de financer les achats de coton.  

La Chine souhaite acheter davantage de coton et l'entreposer  dans une réserve d'Etat de la Région autonome ouïgoure du  Xinjiang afin de faire chuter les prix du coton.  

Le Xinjiang est le plus gros producteur de coton en Chine. Sa  production représentait 36% du total du pays en 2007. 

En août 2008, les départements d'Etat ont acheté 65 800 tonnes  de coton.  

M. Ma a indiqué que le pays élaborerait un plan pour renforcer  le soutien financier aux paysans qui comprendra des subventions. 

« L'industrie textile a souffert d'une demande internationale en baisse. En accordant des subventions aux paysans, nous  soutiendrons l'industrie cotonnière pour alléger les pressions sur les usines de textile et de vêtements", a conclu M. Ma.

Paru dans Emereging Textile

Cotton Prices Plunging Across the Board (Daily Update)

30 September 2008 - In line with the U.S. financial crisis, cotton prices fell 3 cents yesterday in New York, or limit down. The nearby contract lost no less than 11% in the last seven days. Physical prices may follow the same trend on the international market, as China and Pakistan are in holidays this week. Although sliding, cotton prices stay relatively high on a 15-year perspective, as reflected by our historical graph.

Paru dans Afriq.com

La crise financière pénalise les prix du coton