Mediterranean Report: Cotton in Syria
January 5, 2012 Things are looking up for the cotton industry in Syria lately, although projections from the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) through the 2015/16 season are not as positive.
ICAC expects significant decreases expected in most major categories.
Cotton International’s sources report the following expectations for the coming year:
- Seed cotton production in 2010/11 is 714,000 tonnes.
- Lint will total 230,000 tonnes.
- Of that amount, about 175,000 tonnes will be consumed locally by mills, while the remaining 55,000 tonnes will be exported.
- About 15,000 tonnes of the exports will consist of organic cotton.
The good news is there were no cotton exports for Syria last season, so the 55,000 tonnes of exportable cotton is a pleasant surprise. Also on the plus side is the fact that there is no problem with accessing sufficient quantities of water, and the quality is expected to be high. Cotton marketing organizations should begin selling some time during the middle of October.
The longer-term trend, however, shows continued declines for the industry since 2000. If projections hold from the 2001/01 season through 2015/16, Syria’s cotton industry will see:
Planting area decline from 270,000 hectares (ha) to 180,000 ha (decline of 33%)
- Production decline from 345,000 tonnes to 202,000 tonnes
- Consumption (and thus imports) rising from 105,000 tonnes to 185,000 tonnes – a good sign for the domestic spinning and textile industries
- Exports plummet from 212,000 tonnes to a mere 17,000 tonnes, representing a decline of more than 90%. •
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