By Loucoumane Coulibaly
ABIDJAN (Reuters) - West African cotton output is expected to jump 18.5 percent to 2,369,000 tonnes in the 2013/14 season due to increased planted acreage in top producing nations, data compiled by Reuters showed on Friday.
The figure is 10 percent more than a June forecast issued before farmers began planting.
Increased farmgate prices, the introduction of genetically modified crops in top regional producer Burkina Faso and improved weather are luring back farmers and boosting output in a sector hard-hit by a market crash in the early 2000s.
African producers and governments blamed the crash on subsidies received by farmers in competing growers such as the United States.
West Africa alone represents about 15 percent of the world's cotton exports, analysts say. Producers in the region aim to double output to about 5 million tonnes over the next 10 years to better influence world prices.
The most-active December cotton contract on ICE Futures U.S. was up slightly on Friday, trading at 87.51 cents by 1000 GMT. Prices on Thursday hit 87.78 cents, their highest since August 21.
Harvesting for the 2013/14 season is expected to start next month in most of the seven cotton-producing countries and to pick up from December.
Burkina Faso expects output to increase by 16 percent to 730,000 tonnes as farmers planted more fields late into the season.
"In general, the season is looking good. We started off with some difficulties because of some pockets of drought but I think if the rains continue until the end of October, we will attain our objectives," said Yacouba Koura, vice president of Burkina Faso's national union of cotton growers.
In Mali, however, authorities have revised the 2013/14 forecast down to 450,000 tonnes from 522,000 tonnes announced in June due to a delay in rainfall.
"The estimated 522,000 tonnes will not be achieved for the simple reason that the expected planted acreage was not met. Only 505,000 hectares were cultivated versus more than 543,000 hectares expected," said Ousmane Traore, an official at Mali's state-owned cotton production and marketing company, CMDT.
"The rains also came in late in July instead of June," Traore said. The delay in rains also led to some output revision in Ivory Coast and Senegal.
Benin could log the fastest growth in the region's cotton production at nearly 74 percent year-on-year to 400,000 tonnes from 230,000 tonnes the prior season, after the government helped farmers access inputs including fertiliser and seeds.
"With 420,000 hectares planted for the 2013-2014 campaign, Benin will come out this year with at least 400,000 tonnes of cotton," Agricultural Minister Fatouma Amadou-Djibril told Reuters.
In Cameroon, the number of cotton farmers rose 34 percent to 208,000 and this is expected to boost output by 18 percent to 260,000 tonnes in the 2013/14 season, from 221,000 previously.
A nearly 4 percent increase in farmgate prices and good weather were also expected to contribute to increased output.
The following are production forecasts for raw, unginned cotton to the nearest tonne and by country. Data are not revised unless otherwise stated.
