According to local agricultural authorities, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, located in northwest China and the country’s largest cotton producer, has entered the planting period this year.
The main cotton-producing districts in the south of the region have started spring planting and peak planting is expected to occur in early April. Planting in northern Xinjiang is forecast to start after April 5.
The said authorities said Xinjiang’s total cotton output will remain stable at more than 5 million tons this year.
Thanks to its unique conditions of temperature and sunlight, Xinjiang has become the largest cotton-producing area in China, and one of the largest in the world. Over the years, Xinjiang has been upgrading its large-scale intensive cotton plantation. Today, 94% of the region’s cotton planting and harvesting is done with machinery.
In 2022, more than 2.47 million hectares of cotton were planted in the region, with a total production of 5.39 million tons, accounting for more than 90% of China’s total cotton production.