Cotton production in the country is getting worse. The planet is in a cotton collapse. Due to climatic problems in the major exporting countries: the United States, Brazil, India and Pakistan, world prices for this strategic raw material have increased by 30%, the highest level since 2011. 

In the United States and Brazil, which together produce half the world’s cotton, extreme temperatures and resulting droughts have reduced yields by nearly a third. In America, according to the Wall Street Journal, the percentage of abandoned cotton fields is as high as 40 percent. Cotton production in Africa is also suffering. 

India this summer, in addition to a heat wave of 50°C, has faced an abundance of rain and an infestation of insect pests. In Brazil, about 200 thousand tons of cotton stocks went bad because of the drought. In Pakistan, monsoon rains of monstrous intensity have continued unabated since mid-June. Because of all these natural anomalies, stock prices have risen to $3,470 per ton.

Global problems with cotton began back in 2020, against the background of pandemics, lockdowns, and the breakdown of supply chains. Today they are exacerbated by weather disasters, leading to poor harvests, raw material shortages, and rising prices. This applies not only to cotton, but also to grain, vegetable oil, tea, coffee, beans, and vegetables. 

At the same time, the growth in cotton prices will only slightly affect the cost of final products, analysts say. It occupies only 30-35% of the structure of clothing fabrics. The rest – man-made fibers, viscose, and other. And the fabric itself – not the only and often not the main component of the price of clothing. Purely cotton items – T-shirts, children’s clothing, bedding – can hypothetically increase in price by 10-15% at most.

Earlier we reported that Europe was returning to coal.