A USDA report released last week reveals that Côte d'Ivoire has made a breakthrough in the Turkish cotton market.

The report indicates that Turkey would produce 925,000 tons (t) of cotton in 2022/23 while its consumption would be significantly higher, at around 1.9 million tons (Mt), up 4.4% from the 1.82 Mt estimated for 2021/22. Imports are expected to reach 1.15 Mt in 2022/23, which is far from being negligible. It should be noted that in the first six months of 2021/22, international cotton purchases reached a record of 555,678 mt.

Until now, Brazil and the United States were Turkey's two favorites, but with the crisis in international shipping, Greece has positioned itself very strongly in this market, shipping its fiber by truck: Cotton from the US usually arrives in Turkey in 30 days but with the transport crisis it has taken up to 60 days! Other important suppliers include Azerbaijan, Australia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Spain and... the Ivory Coast. The volumes are admittedly modest, but the foot is in the door with 9,703 t out of a total of 555,678 t imported by Turkey.