US Textile Mills Cotton Use In 2023-24 To Be Lower Than 1885

US textile mills will consume just 1.74 million bales in the 2023-24 marketing year that ends in July, the lowest since 1885, which is one year before the Statue of Liberty was installed.

“The US textile mills consumption figure is nearly 15 percent lower than the earlier marketing and even lower than the forecast of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA),” the latest USDA report revealed.

Competition from manmade fibre and low cost textile mills in various countries of Asia in the last few decades, has led to the closure of a majority of textile mills in the US.

Cotton usage recovered briefly in the 1990s, when trade pacts encouraged US mills to export yarn and fabric to be turned into garments in various countries after which they were exported duty free back to the US.