Cotton Fibre Demand and Supply in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a long tradition of cotton cultivation and has over 2.6 million hectares of suitable land for cotton cultivation. The country has important export markets in Africa, Asia and Europe, with Asia alone accounting for 67% of total cotton exports. Domestic cotton consumption in the country shows increasing trends due to the increased demand of the existing and newly built spinning mills, industrial parks and the hand-weaving sector. This chapter attempts to explain two basic concepts of cotton fibre in Ethiopia: the historical background in the first section and the domestic demand for cotton fibre in the second section. The first section focuses on the historical trends of annual cotton production capacity in the country, small cottage industry and the development of modern textile mills in ancient times, and finally tries to trace the import–export culture of cotton and domestic consumption trends. Challenges and opportunities of the history of cotton production in the country. The second section explains the current scenario of cotton fibre demand in the country, the spinning industry and its capacity, the cotton demand for the hand-weaving sector and the modern fibre demand trends in spinning, and the cotton fibre demand–supply balance. Finally, the main factors affecting the balance between supply and demand of cotton in the country are explained in detail.