EN 
PT_BR When we talk about cotton, the first image that usually comes to mind is clothing and fabrics. But the fiber is only one part of a much larger productive ecosystem. In Mato Grosso, the cottonseed, short fibers, and even materials that remain after processing find different destinations. There is oil, animal feed, biofuels, paper, filters, and even materials used by the pharmaceutical industry.
All of this "mechanism" has caused the state to almost triple its cotton production since the 2007/2008 harvest, when the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (Imea) began monitoring the crop.
On this October 7th, Cotton Day, the history of the crop helps to illustrate the importance it has gained in the countryside and in different sectors of the Mato Grosso economy.
And the historical series shows the transformation of cotton farming in the state. In the 2007/08 harvest, Mato Grosso produced 1.99 million tons of seed cotton, in an area of 530,000 hectares. By 2024/25, production had reached a record 7.32 million tons, a growth of 267.31 TP4T, while the area reached a peak of 1.55 million hectares, an increase of 192.91 TP4T.
Data from Imea also shows that the evolution was both in the increase in area and in productivity. Over the years, the yield went from 251.27 arrobas per hectare in 2007/08 to 330.25 arrobas per hectare in 2025/26, an increase of 31.41 TP4T. And it was precisely in this last harvest that the state reached a record productivity.
According to Imea's cotton analyst, Cíntia Teixeira, the crop underwent a significant shift in status starting with the 2018/19 harvest, when production consistently exceeded 4.5 million tons and the area surpassed 1 million hectares.
"From that harvest onwards, we observed the consolidation of a new level of cotton production in Mato Grosso, both in terms of area and output," he explains.
Although the cotton fiber is the best-known part of the cotton plant and is directly associated with the textile industry, virtually the entire plant can be used. The cottonseed, for example, gives rise to products that go to different sectors of the economy.
Cottonseed can be used to produce oil, meal, and cake. As highlighted by the Imea analyst, the oil can be used for animal feed and also as a raw material for biofuels. The meal and cake are important in cattle feed. The cottonseed hull can also be used as a source of fiber for animal feed.
"These are extremely short fibers that remain attached to the seed even after the cotton has been processed. Although they are not long enough for the conventional textile industry, they have characteristics that allow them to be used in different products," he says.
Linter, a byproduct composed of very short fibers that remain attached to the kernel, can be used in the manufacture of banknotes, filters, cellulose materials, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial items. Other short fibers, which are also not of sufficient quality for fabric production, can be used in the production of sacks, felts, blankets, carpets, and insulation materials.
For Cíntia, this utilization helps to illustrate the scope of the processing line. “When we talk about cotton, we're not just talking about the lint that becomes fabric. There's a whole chain of utilization of the seed, short fibers, and residues, which generates oil, animal feed, biofuels, and various industrial products. It's a much broader chain than many people imagine,” explains the analyst.
Expectations for the future
After the record production registered in 2024/25, the most recent numbers point to an "adjustment". Production was consolidated at 6.81 million tons in the 2025/26 crop year and is estimated at 6.65 million tons for 2026/27.
Imea points out that this reduction occurs at a time when the area and productivity are undergoing different trends, but the volumes remain among the highest ever recorded by the institute.
