Current economic reforms in the Soviet Union and East Europe will raise cotton imports, giving exporters an opportunity to raise exports more than trends project. But, reforms may have little affect on cotton production because only small gains are expected in Soviet outturn. Although reforms have been occurring in some countries of this region for several years, so far economic growth continues to be stagnant. Pent up consumption demand could push cotton use up; but more likely cotton imports will rise to supply expanded textile exports which will earn the foreign exchange necessary for further economic development. As textile exports expand, access to textile import quotas in the EC and the United States will be critical. If East Europe's percapita cotton availabilities rose to the current West European level, as much as 2.5 million bales could be added to expected cotton import demand by the year 2000.