Cotton production, exports record multi-year decline

India’s cotton exports and production have recorded a record decline due to weak demand in the West and a shift by farmers to more profitable crops. Concerns are rising that India, one of the world’s largest cotton producers, may become a net importer. The decline in demand is attributed to factors such as lower domestic prices, China’s demand slide, and the US ban on cotton products from China’s Xinjiang region. Uneven rainfall and cultivation shrinkage in some major growing states have also affected cotton sowing and production.