By Yiannis Papadogiannis

Compared to last seasonΆs disastrous lint production of about 185,000 tons, the current crop in Greece should be larger by half due to an increase in acreage and the special care taken by growers during cultivation.

Out of the estimated national production of 290,000 tons, about 90,000 tons have already been sold and another 15,000 will go to domestic consumption. As a result, there is an unsold balance of about 190,000 tons.

Some sources claim that the final crop will be smaller – about 260,000 tons – because they believe growers didnΆt quite achieve the yields they were expecting. While it is true that growers in some areas werenΆt satisfied by yields, we still believe that the total crop in Greece will be closer to 290,000 tons.

Cotton growers are complaining about the high costs of production this season, but at least the prices that they got for their seed cotton were on the high side, averaging about 0.52 Euros per kilogram. Ginners, on the other hand, are very much squeezed as their production costs have increased this season and not being covered by equal increases in lint prices (especially because the U.S. dollar is weak). Also, the well-known economic problems that Greece has been struggling with have not allowed ginners to hold their stocks until prices improve.