COTTON AND WOOL OUTLOOK March 12, 1999 March 1999, ERS-CWS-0299 Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board -------------------------------------------------------------------------- COTTON AND WOOL OUTLOOK is issued electronically monthly by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20036-5831. Electronic release only; no printed copies available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Cotton Supply and Demand Overview The 1998/99 U.S. cotton crop remains estimated at 13.8 million bales, compared with 18.8 million in 1997/98. Final production will be released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 12. Based on the production estimate, beginning stocks of 3.9 million bales, and projected raw cotton imports of 350,000 bales, all unchanged from February, U.S. cotton supplies for 1998/99 are expected to total only 18 million bales, the lowest since 1985/86. However, total demand for U.S. cotton is also projected to decline this season to only 14.6 million bales, also unchanged from last month and the lowest in 10 years. The decrease from last season is the result of the reduced U.S. crop, a competitive export market, a decline in world demand, and a rise in cotton textile imports. Based on this supply and demand outlook, U.S. ending stocks for 1998/99 are projected at 3.4 million bales. Although below last season, the stocks-to-use ratio has risen from 21 percent in 1997/98 to over 23 percent. Historical Revisions Increase 1998/99 Foreign Ending Stocks Estimate Foreign 1998/99 production is forecast 2 percent lower than the year before, at 71.5 million bales, while foreign 1998/99 consumption is forecast 3 percent lower, at 74.6 million. Ending stocks outside the United States are forecast to rise 3 percent in 1998/99, to 38.8 million bales. As a share of consumption, foreign ending stocks are expected to climb to 52 percent this season, compared with 49 percent in 1997/98. Compared with February, USDA's March estimate for 1998/99 foreign production is about 400,000 bales higher, largely because of an increase for China. Similarly, USDA's foreign consumption estimate is also about 400,000 bales higher, while the ending stocks estimate is about 550,000 bales higher than in February. March's upward revision in the estimate for 1998/99 foreign ending stocks reflects historical revisions in USDA's database for Brazil and a larger estimate by China's government of its 1998/99 crop. Historical information supplied by USDA's Brazilian attache led to lower estimates for Brazilian cotton consumption in 1991/92 and 1992/93, adding about 300,000 bales to Brazil's estimated stocks. Revised 1997/98 data for Mexico added an additional 124,000 bales to stocks. Excluding the historical revisions for Brazil and Mexico, and the 250,000-bale increase in China's 1998/99 ending stocks, USDA's foreign stock estimate is smaller compared with its estimate in February. Foreign imports in 1998/99 are forecast this month at 24.3 million bales, slightly higher than the forecast in February, but down 9 percent from the year before. Compared with February, 1998/99 import forecasts are lower for China, Germany, and Poland, and higher for Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan. In most cases these adjustments reflect recent trends in import purchases or trade volumes by the respective countries. Foreign exports in 1998/99 are forecast this month at 19.7 million bales, about what was forecast in February, but up 3.6 percent from 1997/98. Compared with February, 1998/99 export forecasts are lower for China, but higher for Syria and Uzbekistan. China's export forecast was reduced as its recent trade data continues to show only a very small export surplus in China's raw cotton trade rather than the large surplus implied by previous USDA forecasts. The relatively low level of exports corroborates widespread reports that China's Government remains unwilling to accommodate the financial losses associated with exporting its old-crop cotton under current world market conditions. U.S. 1998/99 exports are forecast unchanged compared with February, at 4.2 million bales. Shipment data recently reported by USDA's Export Sales reports remain below the levels necessary to reach this forecast, but the sales rate has accelerated to a level more than sufficient to accommodate the forecasted volume of exports and a reasonable amount of unshipped commitments to rollover for shipment in 1999/2000. Following USDA's standard forecasting assumptions, this analysis assumes a continuation of current policy, with no funding for Step 2 of the Marketing Loan Program for either 1998/99 or 1999/2000. U.S. Mill Use Remains Unchanged U.S. cotton mill use during 1998/99 remains estimated at 10.4 million bales, 8 percent below 1997/98. Actual consumption through the first half of the marketing year indicates that cotton mill use totaled 5.2 million bales, compared with nearly 5.8 million a year ago. Despite the decline in cotton consumption, manmade fiber use has fallen further this season, resulting in increased cotton share. For the first 6 months of 1998/99, cotton's share of fiber use on the cotton spinning system has averaged 79.6 percent, modestly above the 78.5-percent share recorded for the entire 1997/98 season. The Department of Commerce's Census Bureau today released its 1998 summary for consumption on the cotton system and stocks. Unlike previous years, no revisions to previously reported monthly data were made. Therefore, no adjustments to the 1997/98 or 1998/99 data are necessary, and calendar 1998 data are considered final. Textile Trade Deficit Widens in 1998 U.S. textile imports totaled 838 million pounds (raw-fiber equivalent) last December, 1 percent above a month earlier and 10 percent above a year earlier. Increases in cotton and silk textile imports more than offset slight declines in linen, wool, and manmade shipments. Imports of apparel and floor coverings were higher than a month ago, while yarn, thread, and fabric and home furnishings declined in December. Apparel imports, at 546 million pounds, were 13 percent above December 1997. December textile exports declined from a month earlier, totaling 324 million pounds. Although 9 percent below a month earlier, exports were 4 percent above a year ago. Total exports declined in each major end-use category and for all fiber types. Cotton textile exports declined to 141 million pounds, the lowest since January 1998. Manmade fiber exports fell to 159 million pounds, the smallest since December 1997. Total 1998 textile imports reached 10.9 billion pounds, nearly 1.3 billion pounds (14 percent) above 1997. Similarly, textile exports totaled 4.5 billion pounds, a gain of 244 million pounds (6 percent) from a year ago. Both textile imports and exports were records in 1998. The total textile trade deficit reached 6.4 billion pounds in 1998, compared with 5.3 billion in 1997 and 4.5 billion in 1996. Cotton accounted for 63 percent (4.0 billion pounds) of the deficit. Twenty-six percent of the deficit was attributed to manmade fibers, while 3 percent came from wool textiles. The remaining 8 percent came from silk and linen textiles, with the latter accounting for 6 percent. U.S. Fiber Consumption Rises in 1998 U.S. total fiber mill use and domestic consumption both rose to new heights in calendar 1998. Mill use of all fibers was up slightly at 16.9 billion pounds, largely attributable to the rise in manmade fiber use as mill use of cotton and wool declined in 1998 from a year earlier. Manmade fibers now account for 67 percent of U.S. mill use, while cotton contributes another 31 percent of the total. Use of wool, flax, and silk account for the remaining 2 percent. While U.S. mill use was up marginally, total domestic consumption of fibers, which includes trade in textile products, rose 5 percent from 1997 to nearly 23.4 billion pounds. Fueling the jump were textile imports which increased 14 percent in 1998. Manmade fibers continue to account for 56 percent of total domestic consumption, cotton contributes another 40 percent, while the remaining 4 percent is associated with wool, flax, and silk. In addition, per capita fiber consumption rose again in 1998. After jumping an impressive 5.3 pounds in 1997, per capita fiber consumption increased another 3.5 pounds in 1998 to 86.4 pounds, a record. In 1998, U.S. consumers purchased the equivalent of 48.5 pounds of manmade fibers in the form of textile and apparel products, up nearly 2 pounds from 1997. Similarly, per capita use of cotton products rose to more than 34 pounds, the highest in 55 years. Sheep and Goat Inventories Continue To Decline The U.S. sheep and lamb inventory on January 1, 1999, totaled 7.24 million head, down 8 percent from 1998 and 10 percent below 2 years ago. Breeding sheep inventory, at 5.31 million head, declined 5 percent since January 1, 1998. Ewes one year and older declined 5 percent to 4.34 million head. Similarly the inventory of Angora goats declined 25 percent to 631,000 head on January 1, 1999. This inventory level was the lowest since statistics have been collected. The Angora inventory in Texas declined 200,000 head (27 percent) in 1998 to 550,000. The number of operations with sheep during 1998 totaled 68,810, down 5 percent from 1997 and 10 percent below 1996. States with a decline of 300 or more sheep operations included California, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. Three States, Colorado, Connecticut, and Oregon, had more sheep operations in 1998 than in 1997. Operators with less than 100 head of sheep accounted for 90.6 percent of all farms, compared with 90.8 percent in 1997. Sheep operators with over 5,000 head accounted for 14.7 percent of the inventory in 1998, 2 percent above a year earlier. Wool production in 1998 is currently estimated at 27 million pounds, clean. Final 1998 wool production will be released by USDA later this month. Actual 1998 production will likely be the lowest on record and about half the level of the early 1980's. Despite lower production, raw wool imports decreased nearly 8 percent to 70.5 million pounds, clean. Declining import demand was due to the continued weakness in domestic wool mill consumption. Preliminary 1998 mill use suggests consumption declined 21 percent from a year earlier to 113 million pounds, clean. This was the lowest mill use since 1977. Raw wool exports, at 1.7 million pounds, were 64 percent below 1997 shipments. Despite lower production and imports, ending stocks are forecast at 43.1 million pounds, clean, nearly 42 percent above the beginning level. * * * Copies of the 1998 Cotton and Wool Yearbook (CWS-1998) are available for purchase. For information, call 1-800-999-6770. The next Cotton and Wool Outlook (CWS-0399) will be released on April 12, 1999. ****************************************************************************** Information Contacts: Leslie Meyer (U.S. Cotton) LMEYER@ECON.AG.GOV (202) 694-5307 Stephen MacDonald (Foreign Cotton) STEPHENM@ECON.AG.GOV (202) 694-5305 Robert Skinner (Textiles and Wool) RSKINNER@ECON.AG.GOV (202) 694-5313 ****************************************************************************** U.S. COTTON SUPPLY AND USE ESTIMATES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998/99 ---------------------------- Item 1997/98 Jan Feb Mar ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Upland: Million acres Planted 13.648 13.088 13.088 13.088 Harvested 13.157 10.486 10.486 10.486 Pounds Yield/harvested acre 666 612 612 612 Million 480-lb. bales Beginning stocks 3.920 3.822 3.822 3.822 Production 18.245 13.366 13.366 13.366 Total supply 1/ 22.178 17.537 17.537 17.528 Mill use 11.234 10.290 10.290 10.290 Exports 7.060 3.970 3.900 3.900 Total use 18.294 14.370 14.190 14.190 Ending stocks 3.822 3.130 3.309 3.300 Percent Stocks-to-use ratio 20.9 21.8 23.3 23.3 Extra-long staple: 1,000 acres Planted 250 330 330 330 Harvested 249 237 237 237 Pounds Yield/harvested acre 1,056 873 873 873 1,000 480-lb. bales Beginning stocks 51 65 65 65 Production 548 430 430 430 Total supply 1/ 599 495 496 505 Mill use 115 100 110 110 Exports 440 300 300 300 Total use 555 430 410 410 Ending stocks 65 70 91 100 Percent Stocks-to-use ratio 11.7 16.3 22.2 24.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Based on USDA estimates. 1/ Includes imports. WORLD COTTON SUPPLY AND USE ESTIMATES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998/99 ------------------------------ Item 1997/98 Jan Feb Mar ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Supply: Million 480-lb. bales Beginning stocks World 38.25 41.10 41.12 41.51 Foreign 34.28 37.22 37.24 37.62 Production World 91.60 85.11 84.86 85.29 Foreign 72.80 71.32 71.07 71.49 Imports World 26.68 24.75 24.50 24.64 Foreign 26.67 24.40 24.15 24.29 Use: Mill use World 88.21 85.65 84.61 85.01 Foreign 76.86 75.15 74.21 74.61 Exports World 26.57 24.46 23.95 23.93 Foreign 19.07 20.16 19.75 19.73 Ending stocks World 41.51 40.61 41.60 42.17 Foreign 37.62 37.41 38.20 38.77 Stocks-to-use ratio Percent World 47.1 47.4 49.2 49.6 Foreign 48.9 49.8 51.5 52.0 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Based on USDA estimates. FIBER SUPPLY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1999 1998 ---------------- Item Nov Dec Jan Jan ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cotton: 1,000 480-lb. bales Ginnings 4,014 1,843 408 559 Imports since August 1 3.2 23.2 NA 2.6 Stocks, beginning 7,694 10,109 10,223 14,919 At mills 584 559 568 588 Public storage 6,700 8,536 9,127 12,356 CCC stocks 1,251 1,946 3,530 2,092 Manmade: Million pounds Production 779.1 760.9 825.4 901.5 Noncellulosic 751.4 735.4 800.0 867.5 Cellulosic 27.7 25.5 25.4 34.0 Total since January 1 9,508.8 10,269.7 825.4 901.5 1998 1997 --------------------------- Oct Nov Dec Dec ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Million pounds Raw fiber imports 125.4 124.3 123.7 122.8 Noncellulosic 119.5 118.2 117.5 114.7 Cellulosic 5.9 6.1 6.2 8.1 Total since January 1 1,252.2 1,376.5 1,500.2 1,359.3 Wool and Mohair: 1,000 pounds Raw wool imports, clean 7,266 4,933 4,343 8,584 48's-and-finer 4,834 3,362 2,676 7,069 Not-finer-than-46's 2,432 1,571 1,666 1,515 Total since January 1 61,232 66,165 70,508 76,446 Wool top imports 103 179 217 199 Total since January 1 1,982 2,161 2,378 2,530 Mohair imports, clean 9 0 0 0 Total since January 1 11 11 11 21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NA = Not available. COTTON SYSTEM FIBER CONSUMPTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1999 1998 ------------------ Item Nov Dec Jan Jan ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cotton: 1,000 480-lb. bales All consumed by mills 1/ 806 722 876 979 Total since August 1 1/ 3,611 4,333 5,208 5,756 SA annual rate 2/ 10,226 10,247 10,420 11,397 SA daily rate 2/ 39.3 39.4 40.1 43.7 Daily rate 38.4 31.4 41.7 44.5 Upland consumed by mills 1/ 794 711 863 969 Total since August 1 1/ 3,564 4,275 5,138 5,701 SA daily rate 2/ 38.9 38.8 Daily rate 37.8 30.9 41.1 44.0 Spindles in place 5,363 5,337 5,322 5,518 Active spindles 5,038 5,017 4,978 5,209 100 percent cotton 2,671 2,665 2,619 2,605 100 percent manmade 776 753 744 823 Blends 1,591 1,599 1,615 1,781 Percent Cotton's share of fibers 80.1 80.3 79.1 78.4 Manmade: 1,000 pounds Total consumed by mills 1/ 95,957 85,093 110,966 129,451 Total since August 1 1/ 445,874 530,967 641,933 744,064 Daily rate 4,569 3,700 5,284 5,884 Noncellulosic staple 4,220 3,469 4,947 5,371 Cellulosic staple 349 231 337 513 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Adjusted to calendar month. 2/ SA = seasonally adjusted. FIBER EXPORTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1997 -------------------------- Item Oct Nov Dec Dec ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cotton: 1,000 480-lb. bales Upland exports 256 781 1,007 721 Total since August 1 922 1,703 2,710 2,383 Sales for next season 47 15 22 147 Total since August 1 134 149 171 236 ELS exports 9.0 13.7 19.9 53.2 Total since August 1 25.8 39.5 59.4 129.5 Sales for next season 3.6 5.3 4.4 2.4 Total since August 1 4.1 9.4 13.7 11.1 Manmade: Million pounds Raw fiber exports 90.4 76.3 69.3 80.9 Noncellulosic 86.4 73.3 67.4 75.6 Cellulosic 4.0 3.0 1.9 5.3 Total since January 1 868.9 945.2 1,014.5 1,052.8 Wool and Mohair: 1,000 pounds Raw wool exports, clean 81.8 7.0 55.0 167.9 Total since January 1 1,658.5 1,665.5 1,720.6 4,732.9 Wool top exports 180.0 415.6 222.9 808.0 Total since January 1 4,918.2 5,333.8 5,556.7 8,241.7 Mohair exports, clean 337.0 316.1 404.7 393.5 Total since January 1 1,553.0 1,869.1 2,273.7 1,888.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FIBER PRICES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1999 1998 ------------------ Item Dec Jan Feb Feb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Domestic cotton prices: Cents per pound Adjusted World Price 41.96 41.71 42.11 54.69 Mar '99 futures 61.95 59.28 59.95 73.21 Dec '99 futures 65.98 63.35 60.32 72.71 Upland spot 41-34 59.88 56.20 55.46 63.66 Pima spot 03-46 99.07 97.66 94.50 99.47 Avg. price received by: Upland producers 60.70 58.30 57.10 62.50 Mill delivered: Cotton Actual 67.16 64.47 63.39 69.48 Raw fiber equivalent 74.62 71.63 70.43 77.20 Rayon staple Actual 101.00 101.00 101.00 115.00 Raw fiber equivalent 105.21 105.21 105.21 119.79 Polyester staple Actual 53.00 51.00 51.00 65.00 Raw fiber equivalent 55.21 53.13 53.13 67.71 Price ratios Percent Cotton/rayon 70.9 68.1 66.9 64.4 Cotton/polyester 135.2 134.8 132.6 114.0 Northern Europe cotton quotes: Cents per pound A Index 56.02 55.78 56.26 68.68 Memphis Territory 71.25 NQ NQ 74.50 California/Arizona 70.67 69.31 69.25 76.25 B Index 54.83 54.00 53.30 66.96 Orleans/Texas 66.50 63.75 61.38 69.25 Wool prices (clean): Dollars per pound U.S. 56's 0.80 0.70 0.70 1.08 Australian 56's 1/ 1.22 1.42 1.33 1.71 U.S. 60's 0.95 0.95 0.95 1.54 Australian 60's 1/ 1.39 1.49 1.42 1.87 U.S. 64's 1.15 1.15 1.15 1.95 Australian 64's 1/ 1.47 1.58 1.50 2.25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NQ = No quotes. 1/ In bond, Charleston, SC. TEXTILE TRADE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1997 ----------------------------- Item Oct Nov Dec Dec ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Imports: 1,000 pounds 1/ Yarn, thread, and fabric 218,505 205,990 203,819 202,649 Cotton 92,789 84,462 86,020 86,988 Linen 21,063 27,351 22,902 25,089 Wool 3,907 3,659 3,333 4,157 Silk 846 781 798 911 Manmade 99,900 89,737 90,765 85,504 Apparel 684,163 540,093 545,979 482,140 Cotton 401,740 332,027 342,541 288,843 Linen 17,526 14,864 14,661 12,816 Wool 29,106 15,286 12,432 12,308 Silk 12,368 9,860 12,037 11,680 Manmade 223,423 168,056 164,309 156,493 House furnishings 60,986 49,228 48,220 43,978 Cotton 43,517 34,142 34,913 32,932 Linen 242 140 151 291 Wool 149 94 210 172 Silk 47 100 23 54 Manmade 17,031 14,752 12,923 10,530 Floor covering 32,135 29,124 32,483 25,461 Cotton 4,742 3,411 4,934 3,927 Linen 3,978 3,801 4,966 3,239 Wool 9,458 8,942 10,080 7,825 Silk 492 545 572 389 Manmade 13,465 12,424 11,931 10,082 Total imports 2/ 1,003,763 830,876 837,867 760,892 Cotton 546,859 457,288 472,756 416,075 Linen 42,861 46,237 42,704 41,458 Wool 42,826 28,117 26,121 24,587 Silk 13,753 11,287 13,431 13,034 Manmade 357,465 287,946 282,854 265,739 Exports: 1,000 pounds 1/ Yarn, thread, and fabric 179,016 166,282 138,136 146,680 Cotton 65,707 62,082 47,875 48,916 Linen 5,435 5,364 3,759 4,227 Wool 4,126 4,456 3,597 3,783 Silk 1,885 1,702 1,514 1,552 Manmade 101,862 92,678 81,391 88,202 Apparel 191,311 160,395 142,779 122,612 Cotton 113,786 94,881 85,027 72,146 Linen 1,834 1,798 1,642 1,363 Wool 8,642 7,595 5,861 5,947 Silk 3,995 3,689 3,217 3,444 Manmade 63,055 52,433 47,033 39,712 House furnishings 9,382 8,375 7,591 6,477 Cotton 5,551 4,914 4,853 3,783 Linen 354 376 221 308 Wool 97 86 49 146 Silk 164 227 49 150 Manmade 3,215 2,773 2,418 2,090 Floor covering 39,405 37,336 35,719 36,882 Cotton 3,533 3,114 2,881 3,522 Linen 2,227 1,754 1,538 2,029 Wool 3,287 3,341 2,989 3,199 Silk 122 96 73 148 Manmade 30,236 29,032 28,239 27,983 Total exports 2/ 419,387 372,627 324,441 312,892 Cotton 188,652 165,053 140,699 128,433 Linen 9,859 9,299 7,167 7,934 Wool 16,171 15,489 12,506 13,088 Silk 6,167 5,713 4,853 5,294 Manmade 198,539 177,073 159,215 158,142 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Raw fiber equivalent. 2/ Includes headgear. U.S. COTTON TEXTILE IMPORTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1997 ---------------------------- Country Oct Nov Dec Dec ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,000 pounds 1/ North America 231,475 200,712 208,620 171,049 Canada 20,148 19,127 15,004 11,985 Costa Rica 10,046 8,645 8,971 8,555 Dominican Republic 21,800 20,830 23,326 20,560 El Salvador 15,774 11,871 15,822 12,725 Guatemala 10,286 8,321 10,771 7,486 Haiti 3,413 3,189 3,482 2,419 Honduras 30,963 23,952 30,958 26,383 Jamaica 5,678 5,586 5,137 7,361 Mexico 108,420 95,908 91,622 70,993 Nicaragua 4,380 2,783 2,988 2,200 South America 7,857 7,715 8,375 8,863 Argentina 30 26 8 123 Brazil 1,592 1,246 2,334 3,947 Chile 22 12 32 97 Colombia 3,118 3,043 2,890 2,227 Peru 2,484 2,930 2,722 1,996 Europe 33,541 23,589 24,174 21,382 Estonia 949 833 915 818 France 932 710 501 704 Germany 785 840 736 673 Italy 2,901 3,284 3,469 3,218 Portugal 5,388 2,438 1,969 2,281 Russia 981 845 674 675 Spain 2,035 1,368 1,207 1,151 Turkey 13,116 8,667 9,147 7,643 United Kingdom 1,570 1,354 1,695 911 Asia 252,271 209,396 215,159 195,148 Bahrain 955 1,055 1,143 810 Bangladesh 17,525 12,225 11,921 12,250 China 32,050 24,788 25,112 21,876 Hong Kong 31,381 27,959 27,821 26,178 India 33,052 25,158 26,605 23,633 Indonesia 15,397 10,875 10,460 12,141 Israel 2,387 2,353 2,702 1,999 Japan 1,117 1,145 1,476 856 Macao 6,250 5,471 6,464 4,563 Malaysia 5,990 4,768 5,942 4,546 Nepal 834 1,304 1,663 1,209 Oman 1,822 1,832 1,592 1,564 Pakistan 33,015 28,435 28,788 30,950 Philippines 10,585 9,495 9,197 8,529 Qator 995 1,101 977 1,209 Singapore 2,759 2,102 2,605 2,276 South Korea 9,621 7,016 7,132 5,589 Sri Lanka 8,403 7,190 6,389 6,433 Taiwan 14,627 12,237 12,335 9,652 Thailand 11,581 11,354 11,889 11,203 U Arab Em 2,573 1,600 1,631 2,018 Oceania 1,853 836 1,394 1,794 Australia 788 675 1,011 1,063 Fiji 884 61 106 499 Africa 16,731 12,803 14,226 13,085 Egypt 6,974 5,746 6,256 6,461 Lesotho 2,033 1,540 1,722 1,826 Mauritius 2,698 2,003 2,064 1,510 Morocco 1,393 982 1,263 1,011 South Africa 1,274 983 961 671 Tunisia 58 29 55 44 World 2/ 546,859 457,288 472,756 416,075 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Raw fiber equivalent. 2/ Totals may not add due to rounding. U.S. COTTON TEXTILE EXPORTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1997 --------------------------- Country Oct Nov Dec Dec ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,000 pounds 1/ North America 165,645 143,118 123,835 100,293 Canada 33,614 29,491 21,851 20,388 Costa Rica 7,702 7,603 5,177 7,323 Dominican Republic 18,502 15,035 12,721 9,882 El Salvador 6,771 5,890 5,074 3,532 Guatemala 4,832 3,109 2,790 2,997 Haiti 2,267 1,329 2,123 2,178 Honduras 24,082 17,256 17,097 12,292 Jamaica 5,197 3,188 3,984 4,111 Mexico 60,552 58,666 50,938 36,283 South America 4,079 3,598 3,650 4,194 Argentina 131 160 182 284 Brazil 517 433 314 361 Chile 747 527 1,022 626 Colombia 1,554 1,345 1,197 1,147 Peru 99 153 133 153 Venezuela 569 602 417 939 Europe 8,599 8,246 5,114 10,928 Belgium 2,485 3,206 586 3,319 France 672 551 459 645 Germany 904 855 806 1,382 Ireland 95 114 145 628 Italy 342 356 239 343 Netherlands 567 376 497 706 United Kingdom 2,605 1,789 1,233 2,486 Asia 8,251 8,330 6,372 10,818 China 504 270 271 542 Hong Kong 1,763 1,506 877 1,212 Israel 442 847 534 1,647 Japan 3,030 2,617 2,510 3,537 Philippines 263 312 121 582 Saudi Arabia 481 643 513 772 Singapore 267 303 289 565 South Korea 199 478 285 294 Taiwan 200 235 221 308 U Arab Em 307 310 197 479 Oceania 1,154 700 749 1,040 Australia 648 501 608 783 New Zealand 81 123 71 110 Africa 664 801 784 957 Egypt 6 52 53 31 Ghana 48 43 13 19 Ivory Coast 23 33 19 22 Nigeria 130 118 233 193 South Africa 85 131 179 146 World 2/ 188,652 165,053 140,699 128,433 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Raw fiber equivalent. 2/ Totals may not add due to rounding. 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