NEW YORK: Following are selected highlights from a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) post in Beijing:

“Marketing year 2023/24 cotton production is lowered to 5.9 million metric tons on reduced planted area and raised for

2022/23 to 6.68 million tons on higher planted area and reported volumes of classified Xinjiang cotton. Imports for 2023/24 are raised slightly to 1.9 million tons on lower yarn imports and

People’s Republic of China (PRC) issuance of 750,000 tons of additional sliding-scale import quota.”

“China’s textile and apparel industry continues to face significant headwinds in the form of competition from South and Southeast Asia, lacklustre overseas demand, and a weakening domestic economy.”

The US Agriculture Department set the prevailing world market price for upland cotton at 71.56 cents per lb, effective from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time Friday, Sept. 1 through 12 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Sept. 7. The price is adjusted to US quality and location for Strict Low Middling, 1-1/16 inch upland cotton.

The next announcement will be on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, USDA said.