Chinese cotton crops expected to drop this season

China is expected to see a drop in cotton output in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, its main cotton-growing region, as the country is growing other food crops, amid a food security drive and could also be due to the implications of a US import ban.

“Chinese cotton production may fall by 10 percent in the current cotton season in a country which accounts for 20 percent of global cotton production,” media reports stated quoting analysts.

The US implemented the Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act in June 2022, which prohibits US imports of textiles or garments from cotton sourced from the Xinjiang Ugyur region, which accounts for 90 percent of all cotton produced in China.



In a statement, Beijing Cotton Outlook Consulting, the trade promotion arm of China National Cotton Exchange (CNCE) said that China is committed to the development of the cotton sector and has also achieved success through its efforts.

“But farm fields not considered very good for the cotton crop are being diverted to produce other food crops,” the trade promotion arm added.

Sudden climatic changes including heavy floods in several parts of China this year which have affected standing crops, may also have led to a switch to food crops at the expense of cotton in Xinjiang Uygur region.



Analysts are also of the opinion that China may have diverted production of cotton to other countries, which are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, due to the US boycott on textiles and cotton produced in the Xinjiang Uygur region.