India: top producer for organic cotton

For the first time, Textile Exchange have combined two of their key industry reports - the Organic Cotton Farm & Fiber Report and the Organic Cotton Market Report - into one resource for the entire organic cotton suppy chain: the Organic Cotton Report From Farm to Market 2013. Cotton in general is experiencing competition from other crops: there has been a decrease in conventional (4.1%) and organic cotton (21%) in 2013. The organic cotton sector is facing specific challenges with lack of seed availability and a miss-match between supply and demand. However, long-standing problems look likely to achieve solutions and new coalitions have formed to push for a change.

The top organic cotton user by volume was H & M, followed by C & A, Puma, Nike, Decathlon, Tchibo, Coop Swiss, Target, Williams-Sonoma, and Inditex (Zara). India remains the top producing country by volume in 2013. China’s organic cotton fiber production grew by 27%. The strong growth, combined with a drop in Turkish production, saw China achieve number two position in terms of volumes for the first time. Turkey is now on place three, followed by Tanzania, USA, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Mali, Uganda and Peru. Tajikistan in Central Asia is still a small player, but their volumes grew by over 200%. Production in Eastern Africa remains almost stable, but investment in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia is beginning to take off. The executive summary of the report is complimentary to non-members of Textile Exchange with the option to purchase the full report. More information is available here.