ABIDJAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast’s cotton output for the 2020-21 season is forecast to hit a record 520,000 tonnes, 6% higher than the previous season, the cotton-ginners association said on Thursday.

The COVID-19 pandemic did not disrupt cultivation, allowing 444,760 hectares of cotton to be planted this season, nearly 9% more than the last, according to the association’s executive secretary, Brou Kouakou.

“Harvesting has started. The climate was good and the farmers were motivated by last season’s prices,” Kouakou said, adding that the subsidised farmgate price was unchanged this year at 300 CFA francs ($0.54) per kg.

Companies’ cash flow is under pressure after lower global demand slowed exports, he said. Some still have unsold volumes of cotton fibres from the 2019-2020 season.

The Ivorian cotton season runs from May to April, with sowing from April to June and harvesting from October to January. Ginning and marketing take place from November to April. ($1 = 553.6100 CFA francs) (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Shounak Dasgupta)