Largest Historical Decline for Global Cotton Mill Use

WASHINGTON, DC – Cotton mill use generally tracks global economic activity. When the global economy weakens, consumers often reduce apparel purchases. In turn, the textile and apparel industry usually responds with temporary closures or substantial reductions in manufacturing operations. The developing global economic slowdown has significantly reduced world cotton demand for the current marketing year (2019) which ends on July 31st. June’s monthly global mill use forecast is at a 16-year low, and the projected 15 percent annual decrease is of historic proportion, unmatched during the past century. Annual global mill use has only fallen 5 percent or more in ten of the past 100 years. USDA’s Economic Research Service explains that while the overall severity of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown, the immediate shock to global cotton mill use has been historically significant.
(SOURCE: Economic Research Service)