In 2005, German raw cotton imports amounted to 72,617 tonnes. This represents a decline of 15 percent. The downward trend, which has been going on for years now, has thus accelerated again.
Germany's leading cotton suppliers in 2005 were – as in the preceding year – Brazil, Mali, Chad and Uzbekistan. They accounted for 43 percent of Germany's cotton imports (2004: 40 percent). Uzbekistan increased its exports by 46 percent to 9,568 tonnes, thereby regaining top place, after it had fallen back to fourth place in the two preceding years.
Behind it comes Chad (8,623 tonnes), which recorded a 21 percent increase, followed by Mali (6,613 tonnes) and Brazil (6,599 tonnes); however, both these latter countries saw substantial declines (- 37 percent and - 35 percent). Greece and Sudan, which increased their exports by 24 percent and 3 percent respectively, pushed the USA (- 22 percent) back into seventh place.
The sharpest rises were recorded by Côte d'Ivoire (251 percent), Paraguay (161 percent), Nigeria (144 percent) and Senegal (88 percent) – but none of these countries play more than a marginal role in Germany's cotton imports. Substantial growth was also registered by Kasakhstan (69 percent), Zimbabwe (42 percent) and Egypt (37 percent), all of which return to the top ten suppliers of German cotton.
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International Cotton Advisory Committee
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