Mali's cotton output dropped 4.8% for the recently ended 2024/2025 season, which was marred by heavy rains, flooding and crop damage, the West African country's agriculture minister said.

Mali produced 656,679 metric tons of unprocessed cotton, down from the 690,000 tons in the previous season, Daniel Simeon Kelema said on state-owned television late on Tuesday.

The ministry had forecast output of 765,000 tons at the start of the season last May.

Kelema said Mali expected to produce 682,000 metric tons of cotton in the 2025/26 season, adding that favorable weather and a renewal of farm subsidies were needed to meet the forecast.