Solving Russia’s cotton fibre shortage problem this year

The Russian government is considering implementing a number of measures to address the projected shortage of cotton in the country this year. Since the beginning of 2011, world cotton prices have climbed by more than 45% and most experts predict a shortage of cotton fibre in the Russian market from April-May this year.

Moreover, there is even a possibility that Russia may face a shortage not only of cotton, but also of flax fibre, wool yarn and some types of fabric. As a result, the government is considering providing up to 60,000 tonnes of cotton fibre from state reserves for domestic textile producers, as well as starting negotiations with the world’s largest producers of cotton regarding guaranteed volumes of supplies of cotton to Russia until the next harvest.