Cotton prices oscillated slightly in the Brazilian market in the first fortnight of November, the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) said in its fortnightly report. Some traders were active, lowering asking prices, resulting in the CEPEA/ESALQ Index dropped 0.6 per cent since October 31, closing at 2.3940 BRL per pound on November 14.

“While purchasers were cautious to increase bidding prices, both growers and trading companies were firm in terms of asking prices. Thus, when processors needed the product, they had to be more flexible in order to acquire new batches, mainly involving high quality cotton – most batches had lower quality and were heterogeneous,” the CEPEA report said.

Other sellers, in turn, were attentive to the deliveries scheduled for November, both for the domestic and the international markets.

Processors have scheduled cotton deliveries for late 2017 and the first semester of 2018. Besides, agents have been trading cotton from the new season as well 2017-18. So, some growers were focused on both the exportation pace of previously closed contracts and field activities.

Meanwhile, data released by National Company for Food Supply (Conab) on November 9 estimate the area under cotton cultivation to increase between 6 per cent and 15.8 per cent in the 2017-18 crop, increasing production to something between 1.61 and 1.76 million tons, from 5.5 per cent to 15.3 per cent up compared to the 2016-17 crop. The average productivity is expected to be at 1,622 kilos per hectare, a slight 0.4 per cent down compared to the previous season.

In Mato Grosso, the main cotton growing region in Brazil, the area in the 2017-18 crop is expected to increase up to 10 per cent compared to the previous season. Harvesting is projected to be between 1.029 to 1.132 million tons, from 1.8 per cent to 12 per cent up in the same comparison. However, still according to Conab, the soybean sowing delay may influence the schedule forecast for the second crop cotton, limiting area increases. The ideal sowing period lasts until February 15.

In Bahia, area under cotton may increase from 245 to 271 hectares, 21.8 per cent to 34.6 per cent up compared to the 2016-17 crop. Hence, harvesting is expected to be between 388.6 to 429.6 million tons, from 12.2 per cent to 24.1 per cent up, despite the average productivity forecast at 1,583 kilos per hectare (down 7.8 per cent). (RKS)