USDA will provide approximately $80 million in additional payments to domestic users of upland and extra-long staple cotton to support textile mills impacted by the pandemic under a one-time payment program -- the Pandemic Assistance for Cotton Users (PACU) program.
The payment rate will be $0.06 per pound to domestic users based on a 3-year monthly average during 2017 through 2019, covering 10 months in 2020. The program and payment formula were established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
USDA will use consumption information previously submitted to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) by domestic cotton users as participants of the Economic Adjustment Assistance for Textile Mills (EAATM) and Special Competitive Provisions for Extra Long Staple Cotton (ELS) to determine payments.
The payments could start to go to domestic cotton users in mid- to late-April.