T cotton Sector at a Glance

Global Supply and Use 
Globally, cotton production and consumption can vary considerably, but the long-term upward trend 
remains. Major factors driving the growth of cotton supply and demand include biotechnology 
innovations, increasing farm mechanization, population growth, and economic growth. However, the 
growth is punctuated by periods of sharp decline as seen in recent years. In MY 2015, world 
production decreased in response to declining Chinese import demand and large global stocks, which 
lowered cotton prices and incentives to plant cotton. Additionally, in MY 2019, world cotton mill use 
experienced its largest annual decline as a result of the global economic slowdown. 
Figure 3: Global cotton production and mill use, 2004-20 

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The top two cotton producers, India and China, contribute approximately 45-
50 percent of the world’s 
production, while the top four producers comprise 70-75 percent of global cotton production. Currently, 
India is the world’s leading producer of cotton, surpassing China recently. Although yields in India are 
well below the global average, cotton area in India dwarfs that of any other country, accounting for 
approximately 40 percent of the world total. The United States is the third-largest producer of cotton 
globally. Since MY 2015, seed genetic improvements and favorable cotton prices compared with other 
field crops provided a modest rebound in the U.S. crop. Brazil
—the fourth-largest cotton producer—
experienced a record crop in MY 2019
—as cotton there is now produced mainly as a second crop. 

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Figure 4: Leading global cotton producers, 2010-20