April 26, 2012

China's cotton acreage likely to decline 9.4% 

The 2012 cotton land of China is anticipated to drop 9.4% from the previous year, lower than what was formerly expected, the China Cotton Association said Tuesday (Apr 24), citing its survey of planters in March.

In a previous survey, acreage was expected to fall 16.7%, the association said in a statement on its website.

Some farmers were satisfied after the government announced in early March that it would increase the purchase price by 3% or RMB600 (US$95.39) a tonne to RMB20,400/tonne (US$3,243) for 2012 cotton, it added.

As the planting season nears, most farmers surveyed had made a decision, it said.

Among the 2,963 cotton growers surveyed, 42.4% said they would cut acreage and 9.1% plan to increase planting, while 46.4% plan to keep acreage unchanged.