Mali targets 50% rise in cotton output for 2026/2027 season
Mali plans to raise seed cotton output to over 650,000 tonnes as it works to steady a sector hit by climate and security problems.
MALI – Mali wants to increase its seed cotton production by more than 50 percent in the 2026/2027 season, as the country works to steady one of its key export sectors.
Officials shared the target on the sidelines of the 106th ordinary session of the Board of Directors of the Malian Company for the Development of Textiles, known as CMDT, held on February 26. Mali aims to produce more than 650,000 tonnes of seed cotton next season.
If the country reaches that goal, output will rise sharply from the 433,700 tonnes expected in the current 2025/2026 season, according to data from the Regional Programme for Integrated Cotton Production in Africa.
Expansion plan and yield goals
To support this increase, CMDT plans to expand the planted area from 96,000 hectares to 630,000 hectares in the 2026/2027 campaign. The company also wants to lift average yields by 17 percent to 950 kilograms per hectare.
Kouloumégué Dembélé, Chief Executive Officer of CMDT, said the company has put a recovery plan in place to deal with ongoing risks. “We have adopted an interim recovery plan with clear actions so we can better manage the risks facing the sector,” he told the daily Echos Médias.
Producers still face serious problems. In some growing areas, insecurity disrupts farming activities. Floods and dry spells have also reduced yields. Farmers have also reported attacks by jassids, which damage cotton plants, as well as delays in the delivery of farm inputs.
Struggle to regain stability
Cotton remains Mali’s second largest source of export earnings after gold. Yet output has moved up and down in recent years. After reaching 777,000 tonnes in the 2021/2022 season, production has stayed below 700,000 tonnes. This drop allowed Benin to overtake Mali as Africa’s top producer in the 2025/2026 campaign.
Lower global prices have added more pressure. The International Cotton Advisory Committee said the Cotlook A index averaged 79.6 US cents per pound in 2024/2025, down 13.4 percent from the previous season and the lowest level since 2020/2021.
Trade data show Mali exported cotton worth about US$69.7 million in 2024, far below the US$256 million recorded in 2020. The sharp fall in earnings highlights why authorities want higher and more stable output in the coming seasons.
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