US cotton growers are facing growing competition in exports to China and could see market share shrink to less than 40 percent in 2005/06, the US Agriculture Department said on Thursday.
The United States is losing ground to Brazil, Africa, Central Asia and other producers who amassed large cotton stocks in 2004/05, the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a monthly cotton trade outlook report. In recent years, these countries have boosted exports to China, trimming the US share of the market from 60 percent in 2002/03 to 50 percent in 2004/05.
"Assuming current estimates and US market share in the world outside China holds constant, US share of China would fall to 37 percent or 2.0 million bales short of retaining its historical 50-60 percent market share," the USDA said.
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