As strong as Brazil’s cotton cultivation has become in recent years, it isn’t the only industry growing quickly. The South American country’s textile and apparel industry -- now the fifth-largest in the world, employing 1.7 million people -- has been expanding as well, prompting several industry organizations to ask the government for permission to import 250,000 tons of cotton.

Less than two months ago, the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (ABRAPA) and the National Association of Cotton Exporters (ANEA) asked the government to permit the importation of 150,000 tons, and now have increased that request by 40 percent. The organizations have also asked for a temporary reduction or elimination of import taxes between October and May. Brazil’s Board of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) is expected to issue a decision when it meets later this month.

If granted, the imported cotton will make up for a shortfall in an earlier estimate of this year’s Brazilian cotton crop. Originally expected to total 1.28 million tons, ABRAPA later revised that total to 1.07 million tons.