Burkina Faso 2014/15 cotton harvest seen just under 700,000 T

OUAGADOUGOU: Burkina Faso expects a cotton harvest of just under 700,000 tonnes during the 2014/15 season, up from the last year's 650,000 tonnes but revised down from an initial target, firms operating in the country estimated on Monday.

The figure is about 100,000 tonnes below a target set last year for the 2014/15 harvest due to poor rains at the beginning of the season in the land-locked West African nation.

SOFITEX, the country's biggest cotton firm, will account for around 80 percent of the harvest, producing 540,000 tonnes, managing director Jean Paul Sawadogo told Reuters.

SOCOMA and Faso Coton will produce 90,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes, respectively, officials at the firms said. Cotton is the second-biggest source of revenue for the impoverished country after gold.