Make Cotton Sustainable

NEWS REPORT / ORGANIC EXCHANGE

India Tops Global Organic Cotton Production

India is the highest producer of organic cotton even as global organic cotton production rose by 20% in 2009 tipping the scales at 175,113 metric tons (802,599 bales) grown on 625,000 acres (253,000 hectares), according to a new report from Organic Exchange (OE).

“Organic cotton weathered the global economic storm during the 2008/09 farming season, albeit with challenges”, said the OE adding that “organic cotton now represents 0.76% of global cotton production.”

The fourth annual Organic Exchange Farm and Fiber Report 2009 shows that India, Turkey and Syria are the leading organic cotton producers out of the 22 countries and 220,000 farmers that grow organic cotton worldwide.

The top ten organic cotton producer countries in order of rank were India,Turkey, Syria, Tanzania, China, United States, Uganda, Peru, Egypt and Burkina Faso.

According to the Organic Exchange Organic Cotton Market Report 2009, global retail sales of organic cotton and home textile products topped US$3.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2008. Data from the 2009 market will be available soon.