#Raw Materials

2025-04-01

Tariffs to escalate, production to outpace consumption

In the 2024/25 season, estimates show that production should reach 25.9 million tonnes, 7.38% higher than in 2023/24. Consumption is expected to increase but by a smaller percentage (2.27%), reaching 25.5 million tonnes. Given escalating tariffs, regulatory pressures, and fiber market competition, consumption is expected to remain under pressure.

World trade is estimated to be about 9.9 million tonnes, which is very close to the previous season’s levels. The cotton lint trade is under slight pressure due to tariff escalations between China and USA, with both being leaders and close bilateral trade partners in cotton. Any changes in trade policies between those two countries would have ripple effects all over the global cotton trade.

In 2018 and 2019, during the trade tension phase between US and China, China had diverted its trade basket away from the USA and towards Brazil and Australia for its cotton import needs; those countries are expected to gain the most if tariff escalations between US and China continue in 2025. In the 2024/25 season, the USA has supplied comparatively more cotton to Pakistan and Vietnam than China.

Please note that the cotton balance sheets have been moved to the ICAC Data Dashboard. This ensures that the season balance sheets are always up-to-date and available whenever you need them. This also helps to reduce errors because the data is compiled directly from our database. They are included in this PDF report, but we strongly encourage users to obtain all data from the Dashboard.

Dr Matthew Looney has resigned as Data Scientist at the ICAC. The new author of Cotton This Month is Parkhi Vats, ICAC Economic Affairs Officer. You can email her with comments and questions by clicking here.

https://www.icac.org/

The next Cotton This Month will be released on May 1, 2025.

China projected to increase cotton production, yields, and imports in 2026/27

World cotton production in the 2026/27 season is projected at 25.9 million tonnes, exceeding global consumption of 25.2 million tonnes, according to the May 2026 issue of Cotton This Month. That means both production and consumption are expected to remain close to current season levels, while global cotton trade is projected to decline by 2.7% to approximately 9.6-9.7 million tonnes.

ECCO introduces first shoe featuring innovative protein-based fibre

ECCO, in partnership with Spinnova, announces the launch of the limited edition ECCO BIOM® 720, a first-of-its-kind shoe utilising an often overlooked leather by-product, transformed into a protein-based fibre. The fibres are produced using patented technology that advances material innovation while reducing waste and supporting full resource use across the leather and textile industry.

trinamiX mobile NIR spectroscopy: New applications for the footwear and textile industry

trinamiX GmbH expands its solution portfolio for the circular economy, now enabling the identification of materials used in the footwear and textile industries. With its mobile near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy solutions, trinamiX supports manufacturers, sorters, recyclers, and brand owners in reliably identifying materials and improving transparency across increasingly complex value chains.

Young talents honoured – 60 years Walter Reiners Foundation

At the Techtextil trade fair in Frankfurt at the end of April, Peter D. Dornier, chairman of the VDMA’s Walter Reiners Foundation, presented awards to five successful young engineers. Promotion and sustainability awards were presented in the categories of bachelor’s/project theses and diploma/master’s theses. Academic theses are eligible for the sustainability awards if, for example, they develop solutions for resource-efficient products and technologies.

RE&UP contributes to Global Fashion Summit 2026 circularity discussion

RE&UP contributed to the global conversation on textile circularity at Global Fashion Summit 2026 in Copenhagen, where Fatih Konukoğlu, Chairman of RE&UP and Vice Chairman of Sanko Holding, took part in both the keynote session “The New Rules” and the panel discussion “A Reckoning and Renewal for Circular Horizons”, alongside leaders from H&M Group, Looper Textile Co. and Sourcing Journal.

Europe’s textile future at a turning point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint aims to scale recycling and unlock investment opportunities

The EU textile system is at a critical crossroads. Today, less than 1% of discarded garments are recycled into new garments, despite EU-wide obligations for separate collection. In response, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is launching the 2030 Circularity Blueprint, in partnership with ReHubs. This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.

Regional hemp bast for lightweight construction profiles

The cultivation of fibre hemp for the production of ropes and clothing has a long tradition in Saxony. Due to its excellent fibre properties, it is also suitable as a renewable raw material for reinforcement in fibre composites. At the STFI and IWU in Chemnitz, the CannaPul project is cur- rently investigating how a regional value chain for hemp-based lightweight construction profiles can be established. To this end, the technical processing of hemp fibres into continuous fibre strands and their embedding in a suitable bio-based matrix are being investigated.