Sparks said to raise US 2004 cotton plantings

Analytical firm Sparks Cos. has pegged 2004 US cotton plantings at 14.54 million acres, which would be 1.04 million acres more than was planted in 2003, trade sources said Friday.
Sparks officials had no comment on the reported estimate.
Most industry analysts expect US cotton plantings to rise in 2004. Cotton futures prices on the New York Board of Trade have surged to their highest levels since late 1995 on heavy buying by China to meet shortages after poor weather damaged its own cotton crop.
The trade's planted area estimates range from 14 million to 15 million acres.
The National Cotton Council will release its own survey of prospective US 2004 cotton plantings on January 30 at its annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. USDA will release its prospective plantings estimate for cotton and other crops on March 31.