Cotton producers should consider forward sales of the fiber while they still can at elevated values as investors mulled the impact to price prospects from raised US stocks prospects. The forecast US cotton balance sheet for 2017-18 suggests a lot of downside price risk for this year's crop.

While futures touched 55.66 cents a pound last year, on a spot contract basis, they have not been below that level since 2009. Farmers have been urged to consider forward contracting while they still can at higher values, or as a second-best alternative, to use put options to hedge against price falls.

The cut to US export hopes, on ideas of less global import demand given strong and improving crop forecasts in many import partners, fed through into an idea of US cotton imports hitting a nine-year high of 5.5 million bales at the close of 2017-18.

Higher global production mainly in consumer countries like Pakistan and Mexico is lowering their import demand. It is thought likely that 2017-18 cotton ending stocks-to-use will be at least ten percentage points higher than the level for the 2016-17 marketing year.< br/>
History shows that an increase in ending stocks and stocks-to-use is typically associated with price weakness.