COTTON: The U.S. 2015/16 cotton supply and demand estimates are unchanged from last month. Marginal adjustments in harvested area and yield reflect NASS’s resurvey of the South Carolina crop. The marketing year average price received by producers is now estimated to range from 58.0 to 60.0 cents per pound, with the midpoint of 59.0 cents reduced from the February estimate due to declining market prices. With lower consumption partially offsetting lower production, global 2015/16 cotton ending stocks are revised down this month. Production is estimated lower in India and Pakistan, based on arrivals at gins, but higher in Australia. The 1.0-million-bale reduction in India’s crop reflects an early withdrawal of monsoon rainfall combined with pest damage in the northern states. Consumption is reduced mainly in Pakistan, based on lower available supplies. World ending stocks are now projected at 103.3 million bales.
Source: USDA WASDE