U.S. cotton exports 1990-2023

Cotton is a major crop produced in the United States and is also a major export good for the United States. In 2022, around 12.8 million 480-pound bales of cotton were exported from the United States, which was a decrease from about 14.5 million bales in the previous year.

Global cotton trade

Cotton is an extremely versatile crop and can be used to produce sanitary products, textiles, paper products, among other things. As such, cotton is in high demand worldwide. In the 2021/22 crop year, the United States was the leading exporter of cotton, at 3.4 million metric tons. India was another major exporter of cotton in that time period. The top three destinations for imported cotton in that year were China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.

Leading cotton producing U.S. states

Cotton has been a quintessential cash crop in the United States for centuries, particularly in the American South. In 2022, Texas produced about 3.5 million bales of cotton, which was a larger volume than any other U.S. state. Georgia and Arkansas were the second and third leading producers of cotton in that year, with 1.6 and 1.57 million bales of cotton, respectively.