Ivory Coast's cotton output for the 2025/2026 season is set to rise by 9% to 350,000 metric tons, up from 320,000 metric tons the previous year, the cotton ginners' association told Reuters.

"The goal is clear, to recover the 550,000 tons of the past and aim for 600,000 tons," executive director Brou Kouakou said.

Cotton output in the West African country dropped to 236,186 tons in the 2022/23 season, down from 550,000 tons the previous year, due to damage caused by a tiny green grasshopper-shaped parasite called jassid.

The Ivorian cotton sector has been recovering for the past decade after years of political turmoil caused output to plummet. The world's top cocoa-producing nation was among Africa's leading cotton exporters before civil war broke out in 2002.

Sowing has begun in cotton regions, with 353,000 hectares expected to be planted by 104,000 farmers this season, up from 99,800 farmers last year, Kouakou said.

Ivory Coast is still struggling to reach its record of output, with the past three years' yield at one ton per hectare, he said.

Kouakou also said the cotton sector is conducting an awareness session for better agricultural practices for farmers and the introduction of new certified seed varieties.

Ivory Coast's cotton season runs May to April, with sowing April to June, harvesting October to January, and ginning and marketing from November to April.