The production target of 800.000 tons of cotton, set at the beginning of the campaign by the Inter-professional Cotton Association (AICB) of Burkina Faso is realistic according to Ecobank.
The bank’s remark was based on forecasts for the coming season provided by the association.
In a research note cited by Reuters, the Pan-African bank said that the country should be able to save this record level despite adverse factors like white gold during the fall or the threat of El Nino.
“The AICB’s seed cotton production target of 800,000 MT – a 13 percent increase from last year’s outturn – is realistic, given government efforts to support a rise in production,” the note said.
According to the pan-African Banking group, the increase of 20% in revenue compared to the previous season is mainly due to the increase in producer prices, which rose from 225 CFA francs to 235 CFA francs per kilogram, despite a global context marked by a 20% decline in cotton prices.
In addition, the country has decided to increase its total cotton acreage, while reducing the share devoted to genetically modified cotton.
The decision to raise the price aims to preserve the upward trend in output, Ecobank wrote, with the added cost to be offset elsewhere in the supply chain. The AICB is also cutting the price of fertilisers to help boost yields.
Local Medias said that the country is aiming to increase the land used to plant cotton to nearly 740,000 hectares.
“The strength of output will depend heavily on the arrival of seasonal rains, as Burkina Faso’s cotton sector is entirely rain-fed,” the note said. “The impending return of the El Nino weather phenomenon in late 2015 could bring drier weather to West Africa.”