Late rains are expected to slash cotton output in Mali by more than a quarter to 303,647 tonnes this season, meaning it may no longer be the leading producer in West Africa, state cotton company CMDT has said.
Cotton farmers in one of the world's poorest nations had already been struggling with tumbling world prices, exacerbated by U.S. domestic farm subsidies, before the unpredictable weather hammered their livelihoods even harder.
The forecast marks a sharp decline from the 415,055 tonnes produced last season, itself down more than 20 percent on the previous year, meaning the country's export earnings are once again likely to be hard hit.
The figure also compares to expectations that Benin, seen by Malian farmers as their agricultural arch-rival, will produce 320,000 tonnes of cotton this season, a level which, if achieved, would make it the region's top producer.
"Usually 70-80 percent of sowing is completed by the end of June. The problem is there was no rain in May or June ... and by the end of June only 55-60 percent had been finished. The late rains caused many farmers to switch to cereals," said a senior CMDT official.
Cotton is grown in Mali between around June and November, harvested in November and December, before being bought from farmers by the CMDT in a buying campaign which runs until May.
When the rains did eventually come, they were so torrential across West Africa that crops and homes were washed away in some areas, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The crop failures mean many families have been left with no source of income, leaving them struggling to pay for food and to fund school fees for their children who are supposed to be starting a new school year.
Cotton is Mali's second leading export after gold and more than three million in the former French colony are directly or indirectly employed by a crop known locally as "white gold." Falling prices - Malian farmers now earn just 160 CFA francs per kg of cotton compared to 200 CFA three years ago - have forced many to abandon the crop in favour of cereals, particularly maize.
Mali's government has been leading calls for rich nations including the United States to end subsidies to their farmers, which it says harm 15 million people in countries around West Africa by driving down prices and lowering their incomes.
The country's commerce minister warned in April that U.S. subsidies could kill off the cotton industry in West Africa altogether if the region is not given financial compensation for the resulting drop in world prices.
Reuters
