Cepea, November 7, 2023 – Cotton prices oscillated in the spot market in Brazil in October. This scenario is related to the gap between quality and prices offered by buyers and sellers. Thus, quotations were pressed down by purchasers, who were firm regarding prices, while sellers asked for higher values, sustaining quotations in some moments.
Despite the interest in new deals, purchasers offered lower values. As a result, only a few trades were closed in October, to replenish inventories and/or for immediate use. Concerning sellers, some of them remain firm about prices, especially for the high-quality product.
In general, liquidity was low in October. Players surveyed by Cepea say that they have been facing logistical problems, such as high freight values and difficulties to find trucks.
Abrapa indicates that cotton processing activities had reached 74% of the national production up to Oct. 26. In Mato Grosso, activities hit 68% and in Bahia, 90%.
Between September 29 and October 31, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for cotton dropped 1.36%, closing at BRL 4.0185/pound on Oct. 30.
The Cotton Outlook report released on Oct. 27 says that the 2023/24 global production is estimated at 24.603 million tons, 4.85% lower than the volume expected for 2022/23 (25.857 million tons) and a decrease of 0.38% compared to the forecast of the month before. In Brazil, the production is likely to hit 3.05 million tons in 2023/24, downing 3.8% compared to the previous (3.17 million tons).
(Cepea-Brazil)
