National cotton production data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the national cotton production in 2021 is 5.731 million tons, a decrease of 180,000 tons or 3.0% compared with 2020. Among them, the cotton output in Xinjiang was 5.129 million tons, a decrease of 32,000 tons or 0.6% from the previous year; the cotton output in other regions was 602,000 tons, a decrease of 147,000 tons or 19.6% from the previous year.
1. Decline in cotton sown area across the country
The national cotton sown area in 2021 was 30.281 thousand hectares (45.422 million acres), a decrease of 1.408 thousand hectares (2.112 million acres) compared with the previous year, a decrease of 4.4%. Among them, the cotton sown area in Xinjiang, my country’s largest cotton-producing region, was 25.061 thousand hectares (37.591 million acres), an increase of 41,000 hectares (62,000 acres) over the previous year, an increase of 0.2%. The main reason for the increase in cotton sown area in Xinjiang is that the country continues to implement the cotton target price subsidy policy in the region. In addition, the cotton price has increased since last year, and farmers’ enthusiasm for cotton planting has been relatively stable. Affected by factors such as planting efficiency and planting structure adjustment, the cotton sown area in other cotton areas was 5.221 million hectares (7.831 million acres), a decrease of 1.449 million hectares (2.174 million acres) from the previous year, a decrease of 21.7%. It has been 13 consecutive years since 2009. year decline. Among them, the sown area of cotton areas in the Yangtze River Basin was 2.321 thousand hectares (3.481 million acres), a decrease of 517,000 hectares (775,000 acres) or 18.2% from the previous year; the sown area of cotton areas in the Yellow River Basin was 266.1 thousand hectares (3.992 million acres). , a decrease of 91.8 thousand hectares (1.377 million acres) compared with the previous year, a decrease of 25.7%.
2. The national cotton yield per unit area has increased.
In 2021, the national cotton output per unit area was 1892.6 kg/hectare (126.2 kg/acre), an increase of 27.4 kg/hectare (1.8 kg/acre) over the previous year, an increase of 1.5%. Among them, the cotton output per unit area in Xinjiang was 2046.4 kg/hectare (136.4 kg/mu), a decrease of 16.3 kg/hectare (1.1 kg/mu) or 0.8% from the previous year. Due to the long period of low temperatures in spring and periodic drought in summer in Xinjiang this year, cotton production was adversely affected. However, the weather conditions improved in the later period and farmers strengthened field management. Xinjiang’s cotton yield per unit area was stable and slightly decreased. The meteorological conditions in other cotton areas are generally more suitable, and the cotton yield per unit area is 1153.9 kg/hectare (76.9 kg/acre), an increase of 29.8 kg/hectare (2.0 kg/acre) over the previous year, an increase of 2.7%. Among them, the yield per unit area of the Yangtze River Basin cotton area was 1049.5 kg/ha (70.0 kg/mu), an increase of 38.5 kg/ha (2.6 kg/mu) over the previous year, an increase of 3.8%; the unit area output of the Yellow River Basin cotton area was 1199.3 kg /ha (80.0 kg/mu), an increase of 20.0 kg/ha (1.3 kg/mu) over the previous year, an increase of 1.7%.
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