The price of cotton has tumbled as growing competition between the world’s biggest producers drives up supply while cost-conscious shoppers seek out clothes made out of cheaper fabrics.
ICE cotton futures fell below $0.69 a pound this month, the lowest level since October 2020 and less than half their 10-year peak hit in May 2022.
Prices have been dragged down by a sharp rise in production in Brazil, which recently overtook the US as the world’s largest cotton exporter. The South American country exported 12.4mn bales in the 2023-24 harvest season compared with 11.8mn that came out of the US, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture. Australia, the world’s third-biggest exporter, shipped 5.8mn bales.