China is one of the largest cotton producers in the world. In China, cotton producing areas are widely distributed, starting from the Liaohe River and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the east, to the west of the Tarim Basin in the west, Ya County in Hainan Island in the south, and Manas River Basin in Xinjiang in the north. In addition to China, India, the United States, and Pakistan are also among the top cotton production countries in the world. The following is a brief introduction to the distribution of cotton production areas in China and the main cotton production areas in the world.
China’s cotton production area distribution
China is the largest producer of cotton in the world. The cotton planting belt is roughly distributed between 18 degrees-46 degrees north latitude and 76 degrees-124 degrees east longitude, starting from Hainan Island in the south, reaching the Manas Reclamation Area in Xinjiang in the north, and starting in the east. Cotton can be grown in Taiwan Province, the coastal zone of the Yangtze River Delta and the Liaohe River Basin, as far as the western edge of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, except for a few provinces (autonomous regions) such as Tibet, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Jilin. There are 22 cotton-producing provinces and municipalities, 7 of which have cotton fields above 400,000 hectares (Xinjiang, Henan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui); 4 of them have more than 100,000 hectares (Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Shanxi): Other provinces and cities have only sporadic planting.
From a regional perspective, China has three main cotton-producing areas: the Yellow River Basin cotton area, the Xinjiang cotton area, and the Yangtze River Basin cotton area. Here are the cotton producing areas.
1. Yellow River Basin Cotton Area
The cotton area of the Yellow River Basin is currently the largest cotton area in China, including Hebei Province (except north of the Great Wall), Shandong Province, Henan Province (excluding Nanyang and Xinyang), the southwestern part of Shanxi, Guanzhong of Shaanxi, and Longnan of Gansu , Jiangsu and Anhui provinces north of the Huaihe River and the suburbs of Beijing and Tianjin. The cotton production is the largest in Shandong, Henan and Hebei.
This area has a long history of cotton planting, with superior natural conditions. The area is flat, with little autumn rain and sufficient sunshine, which is conducive to the growth of cotton. It has become the largest cotton producing area in China, and its planting area accounts for 1/2 of the country’s cotton fields.
The cotton area in the Yellow River Basin has sufficient sunshine, good heat conditions, moderate soil fertility, moderate annual precipitation, and good fiber quality in normal years. However, due to the improper configuration of intercropping and intercropping in some areas, the degree of pest damage is different, and the rainy and low temperature in the later years of some years have caused unstable fiber quality during the year.
Shandong and Hebei cotton are similar, with good color, good luster, long fiber, low lint rate, good strength, one grade higher than Hubei, small micronaire value, 40 yarns, but more three filaments.
Except Nanyang and Xinyang, Henan belongs to interplanting. The production period is short, the cotton strength is low, the fineness is high, the color is not as good as Shandong and Hebei, and the sawtooth processing is high and it can be spun for 40s. Nanyang and Xinyang are not intercropping, and the quality of cotton is similar to that of Hubei cotton.
2. Xinjiang Cotton District
It mainly includes Xinjiang, Gansu, and the Hexi Corridor. Xinjiang cotton is mainly used in China. Xinjiang’s cotton production accounts for about 50% of China’s cotton production.
The area has sufficient sunshine, arid climate and sparse rainfall. It is an irrigated cotton area; the farming system is one crop a year, the cotton fields are concentrated, the planting scale is large, and the degree of mechanization is high; the yield level is high, the raw cotton color is good, and the content of “three silks” is relatively high. Lower than other cotton areas.
Xinjiang cotton is known for its long fiber, white color and strong tensile force. It is a new cotton area with the most development potential in China. Xinjiang is rich in water, soil, light and heat resources, the climate is arid and rainless, and the conditions for growing cotton are unique. From the perspective of planting areas, Xinjiang has initially formed three cotton-producing areas, namely the southern Xinjiang cotton area, the northern Xinjiang cotton area and the Dongjiang cotton area. The southern Xinjiang cotton area is the main cotton production area in Xinjiang, and its cotton output accounts for about 80% of the output of Xinjiang cotton area. It is also the most suitable cotton planting area in China and a production base for long-staple cotton. Next is Northern Xinjiang, and then Eastern Xinjiang.
(1) Southern Xinjiang (with Tianshan Mountain as the boundary): Long sunshine time, higher temperature in Southern Xinjiang than in Northern Xinjiang, good planting time and picking time. It is characterized by good whiteness, good length, good consistency, and good micronaire value, mainly A-B2 grade, good fineness, can spin more than 40 yarns, processing quality is better than inland, low moisture regain (standard At 8.5%), due to the high temperature, the moisture regain rate of cotton can reach about 6-7%, and the cotton is above the third level, which is better than that of northern Xinjiang. In addition, China’s only long-staple cotton producing area is located in Aksu, southern Xinjiang. The length of long-staple cotton is second only to Egyptian long-staple cotton and better than American Pima cotton.
(2) Northern Xinjiang: the light time is shorter than that of southern Xinjiang, the rain is more, the water volume is large, the micronaire value is lower than that of southern Xinjiang, the strength is lower, the gloss and whiteness is lower than that of southern Xinjiang. .
3. Cotton area in the Yangtze River Basin
The Yangtze River Basin cotton area is located in the humid mid-subtropical zone. Commercial cotton production is mainly concentrated in the coastal and riverside cotton areas in Jiangsu, the Yangtze River estuary cotton area in Shanghai, the Qiantang River estuary cotton area in Zhejiang, the Yangtze River cotton area in Anhui, and the Poyang Lake cotton area in Jiangxi. , Dongting Lake cotton area in Hunan, Jianghan Plain cotton area in Hubei, across Henan, Hubei Nanxiang Basin cotton area and Sichuan Basin cotton area. However, in these areas, there is a lot of rain in autumn, high humidity, and less sunshine, which affects cotton spitting, and the cotton quality is not as good as that of the yellow river basin cotton area.
Among them, Hunan and Hubei have relatively large cotton production. The cotton is characterized by good maturity, high micronaire value, thicker fiber, more than 80% of the cotton has a micronaire value of 4 or more, less three filaments, low lint rate than Henan, gray color, and can be spun 21. 32 yarns.
In addition to the three main cotton-producing regions, Beijing, Tianjin, Gansu, Guangxi, Yunnan and other places also have scattered plantings, but their total output accounts for less than 1% of the country’s total cotton output.
Distribution of world cotton production area
In addition to China, the countries with the highest cotton production in the world include India, the United States, Pakistan, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Australia, Turkmenistan, Mexico, Argentina, and Sudan.
1. China
Approximately 100,000 farmers grow cotton in China, with an annual output of 68,415,93 million metric tons of cotton. It is the largest cotton producer. China Textile Corporation produces $73 billion worth of cotton each year.
2.India
India is the second largest cotton producer. India produces 5,323,467 metric tons of cotton every year. The reason for such a large output is the most favorable climate in the north of the country. The medium temperature of 25-35 degrees Celsius is most suitable for cotton cultivation in India. It is processed in large quantities by modern machines according to the quality requirements.
3. The United States
The United States of America is the third largest cotton producer, and it produces cotton through modern machinery. Florida, Mississippi, California, Texas and Arizona are the major cotton producing states in the United States. Harvesting is done by machines, and the favorable climate in these areas contributes to the production of cotton.
4. Pakistan
Pakistan produces 2,216,932 metric tons of cotton in Pakistan every year, which is also an indispensable part of Pakistan’s economic development. During the kharif season, cotton is grown as an industrial crop on 15% of the country’s land, including the monsoon season from May to August. Punjab and Sindh provinces are the main cotton production areas in Pakistan.
5. Brazil
Brazil produces approximately 1,639,537 metric tons of cotton each year. Due to various economic and technological interventions, such as targeted government support, the emergence of new cotton production areas, and precision agriculture technologies, cotton production has recently increased. The highest producing area is Mato Grosso.
6. Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a cotton producer and exporter in Central Asia. Uzbekistan’s agriculture is mainly cotton planting, and it is an important cotton production base in the former Soviet Union. The cotton planting industry is a specialized sector of agriculture, and the current annual output of seed cotton is about 4 million tons.
7. Australia
Australia’s annual cotton production is 976,475 metric tons, and the planting area is about 495 hectares, accounting for 17% of Australia’s total farmland area. The producing area is mainly Queensland.
8.Turkey
Turkey produces about 853,831 tons of cotton every year, and the Turkish government encourages cotton production to increase with bonuses. Better planting techniques and other policies are helping farmers obtain higher yields. The three cotton growing regions in Turkey include the Aegean Region, Çukurova and Southeast Anatolia. Small amounts of cotton are also produced around Antalya.
9.Argentina
Argentina produces 214,371 metric tons of cotton planted on the northeast border each year, mainly in the province of Chaco. Cotton planting began in October and lasted until the end of December. The harvest period is from mid-February to mid-July.
10.Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has an annual output of 199,358 metric tons. Cotton is grown on half of Turkmenistan’s irrigated land and is irrigated with water from the Amu Darya River. Ahal, Mary, Chärjew and Dashhowu are the main cotton producing areas in Turkmenistan.