Indonesia will boost cotton imports by 15 percent to an estimated 2.2 million bales in the 2004/05 marketing year, but imports will be flat the following year, a US Agriculture Department attache said on Tuesday. Preliminary data showed imports reached about 1 million bales during the first five months of 2004/05, according to a report by a USDA attache with the US embassy in Jakarta. The report was dated May 10 and released on the same day. Attache reports are not official USDA data. Indonesia must import virtually all the cotton it needs for its growing textile industry.
The increase is good news for US exporters, which now supply nearly one-third of Indonesia's cotton shipments, it said.
"Supported by growth in exports but held back by uncertainty about the future, cotton imports should be flat in MY05 at 2.1 million bales," the report said. "Import growth could trend upward if world oil prices affect the prices of polyester/synthetic yarn."
The US share of Indonesia's cotton imports will depend on "prices, availability and additional technical services provided to the Indonesian textile sector," the attache report said.
The USDA's GSM-102 credit guarantee program played a minor role in facilitating US cotton shipments in MY03 with registrations totalling about $34.2 million, the report said. The federal program provides credit guarantees for financing US farm exports.
"The outlook for US cotton is positive due to the combination of competitive US prices and increased Indonesian demand for cotton used for exporting products such as denim," the report said. "However, shipping time from the US was cited as a barrier to trade."
Comments
Comments are closed.