Jan-2026
COTTON: The 2025/26 U.S. cotton balance sheet for January shows lower production and ending stocks compared to December. Beginning stocks, consumption, exports, and imports are unchanged. Production is reduced by over 2 percent from last month to 13.9 million bales primarily because of lower production across the Delta. The national average yield declined by 8 percent from last month to 856 pounds per acre as a result of lower yields in the Delta and larger harvested area in the Southwest. With the smaller crop, ending stocks are reduced by 7 percent to 4.2 million bales, or 30.4 percent of disappearance. The projected season average farm price is raised to 61 cents per pound.
The January update of the 2025/26 global balance sheet shows lower production, higher consumption, lower ending stocks, and essentially unchanged trade compared to last month. The forecast for China’s cotton crop is raised 1 million bales which is more than offset by reductions for India, the United States, Argentina, and Turkey, resulting in a reduction of over 350,000 bales to world cotton production. Global cotton consumption is raised over 300,000 bales as an increase for China is partially offset by reductions for Turkey and Nicaragua. Cotton trade is raised a negligible amount as higher imports by India are largely offset by reductions for Turkey and Nicaragua. Global 2025/26 ending stocks are revised downward by 1.5 million bales because of lower production, higher consumption, and reductions to India’s 2024/25 production and ending stock estimates. As a result, the global stocks-to-use ratio is reduced to below 63 percent.
