China Cotton Production Falls 9.3% in 2015

China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that 2015 cotton production declined 9.3 percent from last year, reflecting mainly a 10-percent drop in area planted in that crop.

• 2015 Cotton output was 5.605 million metric tons, down 574,000 tons from the previous year, a decline of 9.3 percent. 
• Cotton area was estimated at 3.799 million hectares, down 423,400 ha from last year, a decline of 10 percent. 
• Cotton yield was 1475.3 kg/ha, an increase of 12.1 kg or 0.8 percent from 2014.

China's cotton production continues to decline while concentrating in its far west Xinjiang region which accounted for 62.5 percent of national cotton output in 2015. The Statistics Bureau explained that the decline in cotton area was especially steep in eastern regions. Production fell more than 17 percent in the Yellow River and Yangtze River regions. Production and area also fell in Xinjiang but not as fast. According to the Statistics Bureau, Xinjiang's cotton area declined 2.5 percent in 2015 but its output declined 4.7 percent. 

Xinjiang's cotton output appears to have peaked while production in traditional cotton-growing regions of eastern and central China is in free-fall. Xinjiang's cotton output was insignificant until the early 1990s. Since then it has expanded to become the predominant producer. Production in the rest of the country has fallen by half since reaching a peak in 2006. 

While Xinjiang's production fell at a slower percentage rate than that of other provinces, its absolute decline in production during 2015 of -174,000 metric tons was the largest of any province. A media report last month estimated a much steeper 20-percent decline in Xinjiang's cotton production this year due to extremely high temperatures during July and reduced plantings. A government survey found a 15-percent decline in cotton prices received by Xinjiang farmers this year while production costs were steady. 

China cotton production (10,000 metric tons)
	2014	2015	change
Total	617.8	560.5	-57.3
Xinjiang	367.7	350.3	-17.4
Shandong	66.5	53.7	-12.8
Hebei	43.1	37.3	-5.8
Hubei	36.0	29.8	-6.2
Anhui	26.3	23.4	-2.9
Henan	14.7	12.6	-2.1
Jiangsu	16.0	11.7	-4.3