Cotton growers here in the U.S. might make a big cut in acreage this spring.
The USDA warning comes after growers increased plantings by more than 2.5 million acres last year. For 2023, they are expecting acres to fall from around 13 million to around 9 million. USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer says there are several factors that play into this.
“The cotton markets really struggled all year to find a direction on price. Prices are decent now, but well down from really eye-wateringly high prices at certain points over the last 12 months. Lots of concerns about what aggregate demand look like, and part of that’s tied to global macroeconomic conditions, right? That is one of the issues.”
Meyer warns these issues could make growers skittish when it comes to devoting significant land to the crop.
