(Ecofin Agency) - In Cote d’Ivoire, output forecasts for the 2017-18 cotton season stand at 350,000 tons, Reuters was told by Christophe N’Dry, executive secretary of the Ivorian ginners association.

Though this figure exceeds by 10,000 tons last season’s output, it still remains below 450,000 tons recorded in the 2014-15 season.

Third largest producer of the crop in West Africa, behind Burkina Faso and Mali, Cote d’Ivoire plans to produce 600,000 tons of cotton by 2020. To this end, the country, for some years now, has been betting on a strong valorization of guaranteed price to producers. Standing at FCFA265kg in 2016-17, this price is the highest in the region.

Let’s recall that in Cote d’Ivoire, cotton seeds are sown around May-ending and harvest is done from November to January/February.

Espoir Olodo