Brazil to cut cotton tariff

SAO PAULO - Brazil will cut to zero its tariff on cotton imports to help industries expected to be hurt by high prices and low stocks.

The country's foreign trade commission (Camex) on Tuesday said the zero tariff on cotton applies to purchases of up to 80,000 tonnes. The decision will take effect on July 31.

Prices of wheat, cotton and other crops generally rise as stocks fall in the inter-harvest period that comes with the advent of the Southern Hemisphere winter beginning in June. Production from farms in the Mercosur free trade bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, is below normal this year, raising concerns stocks will be especially hard hit.

The new cotton import tariff is aimed at helping garment and other textile industries avoid shortfalls of cotton fiber during the inter-harvest period of May, June and July, Camex said in a statement.