September 2015 US cotton crop is forecast at 13.4 million bales. September’s projection is a 2.6 per cent increase from August. Total US cotton planted area in September 2015 was reduced nearly four per cent. US upland production is approximately 17.5 per cent below the 2014 crop. In the previous 20 years, September upland cotton forecast was below the final estimate 11 times and above it nine times.

US cotton crop development continued to lag last season. As of September 13, 46 per cent of the area had bolls opening, compared with 49 per cent a year ago and the 2010-14 average of 51 per cent. In contrast, US cotton crop conditions remain above the last several seasons.

As of September 13, 52 per cent of the 2015 crop area was rated good or excellent, compared with 49 per cent last year, while 13 per cent was rated poor or very poor compared with 18 per cent a year ago. The 2015-16 US cotton export forecast was raised slightly this month as a result of the larger US crop and the expected competitiveness of US cotton this season. As a share of world trade, US cotton exports are projected to account for about 30 per cent of global shipments in 2015-16.