Cotton Marketing News: Cotton Situation and What it Means for SW Georgia

Don Shurley, Cotton Economist- Retired, University of Georgia,  Part-Time Professor of Marketing and Policy, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College-Tifton, GA

Maybe you haven’t thought much about it, but look around.  You’ll see much less cotton planted this year.  Places where you typically have seen cotton in the past, will likely be planted in peanuts or corn.

Cotton, peanuts, and corn are Georgia’s largest row crops in acreage and value.  This is especially true in Southwest Georgia.  SW Georgia agriculture sits on top of one of the U.S. and World’s largest underground aquifers.  All 3 crops are produced primarily with irrigation.  Cotton farmers are also peanut and corn farmers.  Georgia is the largest U.S. producer of peanuts and the second largest producer of cotton.

Farmers have suffered from escalating costs for 3-4 years.  Further, the prices received for crops has not kept pace, resulting in thin and risky profit margins.  Cotton for example, the expected price for the soon-to-be-harvested 2025 crop is the lowest in 6 years and second lowest in over 10 years.  This is well below the full cost of production—not only for Georgia producers but for most of U.S. production.  Thus, acreage is down significantly this year.  Georgia cotton acreage is down 24% this year—the lowest acreage since 1993.  U.S. acres are down 17% from last year.

Why is the price of cotton so low?  First of all, World demand/Use has yet to fully recover from where it was prior to the major consumer downturn caused by the COVID pandemic.  Second, cotton has lost considerable market share to man-made fibers.  Third, the US has lost a portion of its market share of exports to foreign textile mills to increased production and competition from Brazil.  Typically, about 80% of US production is exported.

So, the best way to describe it—the world pie has shrunk and the U.S. share of that now smaller pie has also shrunk.  Demand has been slow and uncertain and exports inconsistent.  Markets don’t like uncertainty and inconsistency.

Back and forth uncertainty and unknowns in Trump tariff policies also have not helped.  Chinese mills, typically fairly good and dependable buyers of U.S. cotton, have been almost non-existent.

SW Georgia is very fortunate to have irrigation and other crops like corn and peanuts that farmers can turn to—to offset the reduction in cotton acres.  But this is not a sustainable solution.  Beneficial crop rotations are disrupted, and peanuts and corn infrastructure is being stretched beyond its limits.  Cotton ginning and other supporting infrastructure will go partially unused and well below full capacity.  The owners/stock holders of gins, many of them also cotton farmers, will suffer financially.  Some Georgia gins may choose not to operate this year.  We need cotton to come back.  There is no replacement for cotton in the landscape of Georgia agriculture.

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Again, look around.  Notice what people are wearing, especially younger consumers.  Chances are it’s not cotton or certainly not as much cotton as it used to be.  We’ve lost a large share of the clothing market to man-made fibers.  This is especially true for women and for both the men’s and women’s sports/active wear apparel market.  Look around.

Look at what you are wearing.  Look at the tags.  What is it made of?  Where is it made?  Man-made fibers are not environmentally friendly and contribute to pollution by petroleum and microplastics.  Cotton is plant-based and more environmentally friendly.  Buy cotton.  It matters.  It helps.  You’re helping farmers, your neighbors, and your local economy.

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NOTE: This article was invited and written for and published by Bainbridge Media, “Cotton in Crisis”, The Post-Searchlight—Down on the Farm, Bainbridge, GA.  It is reprinted with permission.

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This content is for informational and educational purposes only.  The author, Don Shurley, is solely responsible for the content.  Neither the author nor Southern Cotton Growers (SCG) assume responsibility for decisions made and actions taken as a result of this content. Any data included is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness is not guaranteed by Southern Cotton Growers (SCG) or the author.  The content and opinions expressed are those of the author, and not SCG.