Related Keywords: cotton farming, National Cotton Council, NCC survey, smallest cotton acreage, US cotton farmers, weak market price, worlds biggest exporter
The National Cotton Council (NCC) expects cotton farming in the world's biggest exporter to fall to 9.4 million acres in 2015. That would be the smallest cotton acreage since 2009, according to U.S. government data.
U.S. cotton farmers are expected to reduce acreage by nearly 15 percent this year as weak market prices force them to switch to other crops.
The NCC survey, widely watched as one of the earliest indicators of the next season's production, is based on a questionnaire mailed in mid-December to producers across the 17-state cotton belt.