China's Xinjiang to reduce area under cotton

China is currently the second largest producer of cotton, just behind India. The government is aiming to reduce its cotton cultivation in Xinjiang, which produces about 60 per cent of the total cotton grown in China, by about 6.5 per cent to create favourable conditions for releasing some of its stock.

At present, China is estimated to have around 11 million metric tons of cotton stockpile created through a three-year programme aimed at supporting cotton growers. However, this stock has resulted in increased cost of storage fees and there is also a danger of fibre getting degraded over time. This is compelling the government to sell its cotton reserves.

China has been cutting down its cotton cultivation area since 2014, and including the latest development, the total area taken away from cotton cultivation would be more than 400,000 hectares.

In 2015, China's cotton output was 5.6 million tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Meanwhile, the government is also aiming to improve the quality of cotton grown in Xinjiang region by promoting better varieties of cotton seed and impart more training to farmers. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – China