2019 How Will The Xinjiang Cotton Region Take Pride In The Past?

In 2019, the cotton planting area of the whole country decreased steadily, and the cotton yield per unit area of the whole country decreased. However, the cotton growing area of Xinjiang province was one of the most outstanding crops in terms of planting area and output. How important is Xinjiang's position in China's cotton industry?

1. large area

Distribution map of main cotton producing areas in China

China has a wide range of cotton fields. According to the requirements of cotton for ecological conditions, combined with the characteristics of cotton production, the distribution of cotton areas, socio economic conditions and cotton planting history, the whole country is divided into three major cotton regions: the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the Xinjiang cotton region. The output of the three cotton areas accounts for more than 99% of the whole country.

In the past 2015-2019 years, the layout of the three major cotton regions has been broken. The dominance of Xinjiang is unique, while the mainland area has dropped significantly. In 2018, the Yellow River basin accounted for only 13.65% of the total, while the Yangtze River Basin accounted for 11.39%, and the mainland was less than 30%.

Planting area and proportion of cotton growing areas in China in 2018 (area: 10000 mu)

The cotton planting area of the whole country has been decreasing, while the cotton planting area in Xinjiang has been expanding constantly, and the proportion in the whole country has also increased rapidly.

Cotton planting area and proportion in Xinjiang

Xinjiang cotton growing area

2. high yield

In addition to the expansion of the planting area, the scale and mechanization level of Xinjiang's cotton industry has been further upgraded. Cotton output has been innovating repeatedly, and the output per unit area has exceeded the national average level in the same period. In 2019, 5 million 2 thousand tons of cotton were produced, accounting for 84.9% of the total national total.

Xinjiang's cotton output accounts for the national proportion.

Comparison of cotton yield per unit area in Xinjiang and China

3. big subsidies

Xinjiang cotton becomes the backbone of domestic cotton supply, and it is inseparable from the implementation of cotton target price subsidy policy. Since 2014, through the implementation of cotton target price subsidy policy, Xinjiang has explored a new way to decouple agricultural product prices from market supply and demand, and to decouple government subsidies. It has realized the strategic adjustment of the layout of cotton production in the whole country, promoted the development of the whole industry chain of cotton production, processing, circulation and spinning, provided practical experience for the structural reform of the supply side of agriculture, and played an important role in the economic and social development of Xinjiang. The State implements cotton target price subsidy policy in Xinjiang area, mobilizes the enthusiasm of cotton growers, and makes Xinjiang cotton planting area increase steadily.

In April 2017, the State Council issued the "guiding opinions on the establishment of functional areas for grain production and production protection zones for important agricultural products", with the emphasis on Xinjiang, supplemented by the the Yellow River River Basin and the main production area of the Yangtze River Basin, and designated 35 million mu of cotton production protection area. This further promoted cotton production to concentrate in Xinjiang and form a dominant industry.

The cotton yield per unit area decreased in 2019, which was mainly affected by the disastrous climate. During the critical period of cotton growth, natural disasters such as wind sand, high temperature, hail and low-temperature freezing occur frequently in major cotton producing areas such as Xinjiang, Hebei, Jiangxi, Shandong and Hubei.

With the transformation of domestic textile enterprises, the demand for high-quality cotton in the downstream of the cotton industry chain has been increasing. The domestic high quality cotton production is still unable to meet the increasing consumption demand. Some enterprises have to fill the gap of high-quality cotton by importing high-quality cotton and Australian cotton. The effective supply of high-quality and high-grade cotton in Xinjiang will effectively reduce the dependence of textile enterprises on imported cotton.