Burkina Faso cotton output to rise in 2017-18 season- Industry official

Africa’s top cotton grower sees output rising by as much as 20 percent in the 2017-18 season.

An industry official in Burkina Faso said cotton output will surge to 820,000 metric tons and added that the target is realistic and achievable if rains are favorable and well distributed over the season.

According to Bloomberg, Georges Yameogo, general secretary of the country’s cotton association, told reporters this on Saturday in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso harvested 683,000 tons of cotton in the 2016-17 season, which was below the target of 700,000 tons due due lack of rains in September.

This is still 17 percent higher than the 586,000 tons harvested in the 2015-16 season, Georges revealed.

The price for the new season was set at 245 CFA Francs ($0.40) a kilogram up from 235 Francs the previous season.