(Ecofin Agency) - Mali just revealed it has scaled down by at least 100,000 tons its forecast for cotton output this season. Previously expecting 750-800 thousand tons, the West African nation now estimates it will produce 650,000 tons.

Textile Development Company of Mali (CMDT in French) who previously made the announcement did not give reasons to back its decision to revise the forecast. In the case where actual output fits the forecast, Mali would still have produced about 150,000 tons more than the previous season when it recorded late rains that impaired harvest and delayed ginning.

Let’s recall that during the previous season, all major cotton producers had their output fall. Production in Burkina Faso fell by 18% to 581,000 tons. Cote d’Ivoire’s plunged 30% to 310,000 tons.

Aaron Akinocho