Cotton
For the third year in a row, world cotton production will exceed consumption. Cotton stocks are set to reach new highs with a relative impact on prices. Both supply side and demand side factors are at work for the natural fibre ‘cotton’, often called white gold. While world consumption will trail production, global trade volumes are shrinking in 2014-15 by one million tonnes. This is expected to result in closing stocks of 21.4 million tonnes for the current year versus 19.7 million tonnes last year.
Coffee
Coffee growers in Brazil are withholding crop sales in expectation of higher prices ahead, despite forecasts for rain in drought-hit coffee plantations. Producers in Brazil’s top coffee growing states have sold less than 20% of this year’s coffee harvest, according to research institute Cepea.