March 30, 2012

China's 2012 cotton sowing land may decline 16.7%

The cotton sowing area of China is anticipated to drop 16.7% from last year, according to results of the latest survey by the China Cotton Association (CCA).

A report published on the association's website on Tuesday (Mar 27) said that of 2,676 farmers being surveyed, about 38% prepared to cut cotton acreage this year while 5.4% intended to increase the planting area.

The CCA noted that soft cotton prices and mounting cost of labour, fertiliser and seeds dampened some farmers' planting interest.

China usually starts cotton planting from early April and begins to reap the crop from the middle of October.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China produced 6.6 million tonnes of cotton in 2011, a jump of 10.7% over the previous year.