Seasonal timing of production benefits Brazil cotton

Brazil is a Southern Hemisphere country that plants most of its crop by December-January and harvests by June-July. Monthly cotton exports usually peak between the months of August and December. This pattern contrasts with the seasonality of U.S. cotton exports, which peak between May and July. Since 90 percent of global cotton production is located in the Northern Hemisphere, the seasonal timing of production means Brazilian producers benefit more from market and price information from Northern Hemisphere competitors than vice versa. This chart is from the ERS report, Brazil's Cotton Industry: Economic Reform and Development, CWS-11D-01, June 2011.

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