A study on rational location of the cotton production in China

Abstract

Cotton is the leading cash crop in China. The cotton sown area accounts for about 30per cent of the total sown area of all the various cash crops. It is the main material used in the textile industry in China. More than 95per cent of textile materials were cotton during the 1950s; and it still occupies 80per cent at present. There are some problems concerning rational location of cotton production in China. In order to solve the problems existing in civil cotton production and supply, in view of strategy, a number of cotton production bases must be selected and built step by step in a planned way. The location of cotton production should be adjusted progressively in accordance with the existing problems. The existing cotton production regions should be consolidated and improved. The cotton production region of the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River should be renewed quichly to make it become the largest stable and high-yield cotton preduction region. In the regions with suitable natural conditions and large water and soil potential, new cotton production regions should be developed in a planned way. In the regions where natural conditions are unsuitable or the competition between grain and cotton is sharp, cotton may be replaced by grain and other crops. In the self-supporting regions one should raise the yield per unit areas, not exparde the fields.