Importance of DR-CAFTA to Florida’s Cotton Industry

Florida’s Cotton Industry

• Growers in Florida produce an average of 110 thousand bales of cotton on approximately 100 thousand acres.
• • The latest Census of Agriculture reports that 268 farms planted cotton with average cotton acreage on those farms of approximately 380 acres.
  • The annual farm-gate value is estimated at roughly $25 million.

Why is DR-CAFTA Important to the Cotton Industry of Florida?

• The absence of a DR-CAFTA agreement puts at risk a market that imports a substantial amount of U.S. cotton.
• • Today, DR-CAFTA countries import 2.7 million bales, or 13%, of the U.S. crop. That’s 200 thousand bales of raw fiber, and another 2.5 million bales are purchased as yarn and fabric that was manufactured by the U.S. textile industry.
  • • DR-CAFTA countries have been a growth market for U.S. cotton due to benefits conveyed under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). Since 2000, U.S. cotton and cotton product exports have grown from 1.9 million bales to the current level of 2.7 million bales.
      
      
  • DR-CAFTA encourages additional investment by building upon the “one-way” trade preferences included in (CBTPA) and allows the demand for U.S. cotton to expand.
    
    
• A Western Hemisphere trading platform provides the US cotton and textile industries with the best means of competing with textile products sourced from Asia, primarily China.
  
  
• Increased imports of raw cotton into the United States are not a concern as DR-CAFTA countries produce only 20 thousand bales per year.
• • Looking forward, limited domestic production and a 90% import market share by US cotton suggests that any growth in mill use in DR-CAFTA countries will translate into additional US fiber exports.
    
    
• Passage of DR-CAFTA protects a market whose purchases of U.S. cotton translate into $3 million in annual farm-gate revenue for Florida’s cotton.