Analysis on cotton production in Jiangxi province and countermeasures for its development

Through comprehensively analyzing the status and changes of Jiangxi’s cotton production in recent years, the current situation and problems of cotton production in Jiangxi can be further understood. Based on the data of Jiangxi cotton growth index (CCGI), National Bureau of Statistics and monitoring data of Jiangxi Cotton Research Institute in "China cotton prosperity report", Jiangxi cotton production was comprehensively analyzed from the aspects of planting area, growth index, yield, cost and benefit. The results showed that in recent years the planting area in Jiangxi decreased from 1 633 300 hm2 in 1994 (the highest in history) to 50 600 hm2 in 2017. In recent 5 years, it had decreased significantly and the annual growth index has varied greatly. Both lint yield and total production reached their highest values in 2012, at 1 790 kg/hm2 and 152 000 tons, respectively. The total planting cost dramatically increased from 15411.8 yuan/hm2 in 2009 to 29 940.0 yuan/hm2 in 2011. Owing to the annually rising labor cost, the unit price of seed cotton decreased dramatically from 11.3 yuan in 2010 to 5.5 yuan in 2015, with a drop of 51.3%. Revenue declined year by year from 30 100.9 yuan/hm2 in 2010, and even showed negative effects. Further correlation analysis showed that the unit price and labor cost of seed cotton were closely related to the income and initiative of farmers. The state needed to increase the subsidy for cotton target price, and cotton production should be lightly simplified and mechanized. The paper also put forward some suggestions and countermeasures to boost Jiangxi’s cotton production.