2023 Cotton Output Forecast To Decline In China
Chinese cotton production is forecast to decline in the current cotton season, primarily in its main cotton growing region of Xinjiang Uygur, due to the impact of the US import ban and also diversion to other food crops.
Cotton output may drop by 10 percent in China, amid a food security drive and also due to US import ban on import of clothing made from cotton grown in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act was adopted by the US in mid-2022, which strictly prohibits imports of textiles or apparels from cotton produced in the Xinjiang Ugyur region. Incidentally, the region accounts for 90 percent production of all Chinese cotton.
“Farms not suitable for cotton are being switched to produce various other food crops,” Beijing Cotton Outlook Consulting, the trade promotion arm of China National Cotton Exchange (CNCE) said in a statement.
“The statement also added that China is fully committed to developing its cotton industry and has been able to achieve success through its efforts in the past few decades,” SCMP reported.
Several regions of China were hit by severe floods earlier in the year, and had affected standing farm crops. This could also one of the main reasons for diverting from cotton to food crops in Xinjiang Uygur.
“The US law could also have led to China switching cotton production to countries, which are part of its Belt and Road Initiative,” experts opined.
