Surging cotton imports, up to four million tons, over the last four
years have caused Chinese cotton growers to lose out on 18 billion
yuan (US$2.25 billion) in revenues.
According to Tuesday's edition of Economic Information
Daily, each of China's nearly 100 million cotton growers
earned 200 yuan less a year.
Experts warn that if China's growing dependence on imported
cotton continues, it will wreak havoc on the national cotton
industry and growers' incomes.
Statistics show that the growth rate of China's domestic demand
for cotton fuelled by the rapid growth of the textiles industry and
surging exports, has risen by an average of 10 percent annually
since 1998.
China's demand for cotton reached 9.4 million tons in 2005,
exceeding domestic production by 3.95 million tons. Textile firms
turned to imports to meet the demand.
At the same time, domestic cotton production was unstable and
rose and fell with fluctuations in cotton prices.
Guan Ruijie, deputy director of the Agricultural Department of
the
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, said that
last year alone, China imported 2.57 million tons of cotton, which
was a third higher than the total cotton output of Xinjiang, the
country's largest cotton producer.
Customs figures showed China's net cotton imports amounted to
4.14 million tons between January 2001 and August 2005, and the
cost of imports hit 6 billion yuan.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) forecast
that the shortage could last a few more years, or for about as long
as the country's cotton production remains less than
consumption.
China will still have to import huge quantities of cotton in the
next couple of years, the NDRC said.
Experts from the US have predicted that China's demand for
cotton will reach 12 million tons by 2014, or about half of the
world's total output.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that cotton growing has become
a major industry with income from selling cotton making up
one-third of cotton farmers' cash income. The figure is about half
or more for Xinjiang cotton farmers.
According to industry insiders, half of China's cotton imports
come from the US. Cotton subsidies provided by the US government to
domestic growers, which is reportedly US$3 billion a year, is a key
cause of falling international cotton prices, and this exerts
pressure on China's cotton farmers.
If this carries on unchecked, cotton growers in Xinjiang will be
the most badly affected.
Guan suggested that the government help Xinjiang expand its
cotton-growing acreage by some 667,000 hectares to increase cotton
output, thereby boosting cotton self-sufficiency to around 80
percent and reducing the reliance on imports.
With the necessary support from the government, Xinjiang could
be capable of turning out 3.8 million tons of cotton a year, or
half of China's total, within five years, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2006)
