T cotton Sector at a Glance

Figure 6: Leading global cotton importers, 2010-20 
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The United States is the leader in global exports, supplying more than 35 percent of the world’s raw 
cotton export market. In MY 2016, U.S. export levels increased significantly. This change was 
generated by a high-quality crop, coupled with production decreases from other producers, primarily 
India and Brazil. U.S. export levels have remained strong since then. However, Brazil
—with its recent 
production increases
—has become the second largest exporter to the world, surpassing India in MY 
2018. In fact, the United States and Brazil together now account for more cotton exports than the rest 
of the world combined. 
Figure 7: Leading global cotton exporters, 2010-20 
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The United States is also a key player in the global trade of cotton goods. While the United States 
exports much of its raw cotton fiber, it imports the bulk of its textile and apparel products, with China, 
India, and Bangladesh accounting for over 50 percent of U.S. cotton product imports. Although of a 
much smaller quantity, U.S. cotton product exports
—mainly yarn and fabric—also play a role in global 
trade. Over 70 percent of these exports go to Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico for 
further processing before many of the finished products return to the United States. 
World Stocks to Use and Prices 
A measure often used to demonstrate the balance between cotton supply and demand is stocks-to-
use, the ratio of cotton stocks available to how much is used. Higher stocks-to-use ratios generally 
indicate lower prices, and vice versa. Cotton prices themselves are often measured by the Cotlook A 
Index, which is an average of the five cheapest cotton price quotations available for trade around the 
world.
In MY 2010, cotton prices rose significantly as a result of a combination of factors that drove stocks to 
unexpectedly low levels and also limited global production increases that year. Both supply and 
demand responded to the higher prices and the stocks-to-use increased considerably for several 
years. Beginning with MY 2015, global stocks-to-use decreased as China slowly sold off or used its 
excessive stocks, and prices increased. However, stocks-to-use jumped to a record in MY 2019, as a 
large global cotton crop was produced at a time when the global economic slowdown reduced world 
cotton demand to a 16-year low.