According to forecasts by the US Department of Agriculture, Côte d'Ivoire, the fourth in the list of African cotton producers, exports record volumes of cotton in the 2019-2020 season.

The export of Cote d'Ivoire cotton in the 2019-2020 marketing year is projected at 875,000 bales, and the total production in the 2019-2020 marketing year is projected at 925,000 bales.

Currently, the cotton yield in the country is rapidly increasing and, at the same time, sown area for this crop is expanding. The government of Côte d'Ivoire has set itself the ambitious task of bringing cotton production to the level of one million bales in 2019-2020.

“Under normal conditions, the country seems ready to strengthen its status as one of Africa’s major exporters, losing only to Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso,” the US Department of Agriculture predicts.

Cote d'Ivoire exports almost all of its cotton to other countries for further processing. The main foreign buyer of Cote d'Ivoire cotton is Bangladesh.

The US Department of Agriculture said Cote d'Ivoire's textile industry is struggling with global competition, and this problem is expected to continue.