By Seshadri Ramkumar
LUBBOCK, USA (Scrap Monster): A survey by National Cotton Council ( NCC) released today (February 11, 2012) indicates that there will be decline of 7.5 % in upland cotton acreage from the 2011 level amounting to 13.34 million acres in 2012..
Extra-long staple (ELS) acreage is expected to decline by 6.4% from the 2011 level. The expected ELS acreage will be 287,000 acres. According to Gary Adams, Vice President of NCC, the expected decline in cotton area is consistent with the market trends, which has weakened since last year.
Texas, the largest cotton producing state in the United States is to have the acreage decline of 5.1 percentage from the 2011 level. Compared to other regions, the decline in Texas is relatively less. Producers are expected to plant drought tolerant crop such as cotton and hence the decline in cotton acreage is relatively less compared to other regions, said the NCC report.
Based on the average yield assumptions, the total crop is expected to be 18.3 million bales (480 pounds each). NCC’s survey indicates that the expected harvested area would be 10.88 million acres which is 20.3 % below the planted area.
(The writer is Associate Professor at Texas Tech University, USA)
