Cotton industry adjustment, challenges and opportunities coexist

After going through the pilot reform of cotton target price in 2014, the cotton industry in Xinjiang experienced another round of adjustment at the beginning of this year.

In mid-March, the Agriculture Department of the Autonomous Region released the news that this year our district plans to reduce the area of ​​cotton cultivation by 4.665 million mu. The cotton cultivation will gradually withdraw from the secondary cotton area and the risky cotton area and concentrate on the high-quality and high-yield areas. The guidance plan will release a clear signal. Cotton production structure is facing adjustments.

As people watched the market, on April 7, the National Development and Reform Commission set the target price of Xinjiang cotton in 2015 at 19,100 yuan per ton, which was 700 yuan less than that in 2014.

By reducing the area and guiding the price reduction, under the combination policy, what are the challenges faced by the various sectors of the cotton industry chain in Xinjiang? Recently, the reporter conducted interviews with relevant parties.

The difference between retail and large households is the county of cotton cultivation in Xinjiang. More than 90% of the county's planting area is cotton. Farmers grow cotton from generation to generation. The cotton is not only planted on this land, but is also deeply rooted in the hearts of farmers. Maimai Aili is a villager in the Brazilian village of Awati in Xingping Township, Yuli County. There are 68 acres of land in the village. Last year, all the cotton was planted. This 68 mu of cotton can be tossed him for a year. “Last year of cotton sowing, the frequent occurrence of severe weather, cotton replay twice, the planting cost reached 2,000 yuan per mu, and the final settlement was lost.” Mamat Ari said that since last winter, he actively participated in the county And planting and learning in the township organization. This year he experimented with planting 20 mu of alfalfa, and also installed drip irrigation equipment to transfer the energy that had been spent on cotton to the alfalfa. "If the benefits are good, I will plant them next year," said Maiti Aili. Also in Aksu City is cotton. Fruit and cotton intercropping continues here for many years. As the age of fruit trees grows, the tree canopy shades the sun, and the quality and yield of cotton are affected. Together with the adjustment of the cotton policy, the benefits of cotton cultivation have dropped significantly. This year, the city of Aksu launched the "orchard retreat" policy. As of now, 120,000 acres of cotton have been retired.

Unlike retail investors such as Maiti Ai Li, large growers have higher levels of intensification and better control of cotton planting costs. They believe that development opportunities have already come.

Zhu Xiangjun, a large cotton planter in Tiesgan Village, Haulayugong Township, Korla City, expanded his cotton planting area from 1,000 mu last year to 4,000 mu this year. He is confident in the market. Zhu Xiangjun said that after the pilot reform of the cotton target price last year, the value of cotton in the market was mainly determined by whether or not to meet the needs of the processing enterprises. Therefore, this year he chose the cotton varieties whose quality is more in line with the demand for orders.

The volatility of planting intentions of planting enterprises to introduce new varieties of farmers has made seed production and distribution companies uncomfortable. “One side is the decline in overall sales. On the one hand, it is increasingly demanding for planting large households, and the seed industry is also facing adjustments,” said Zhang Jianwen, general manager of Bazhou Youzhong Seed Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Friendship Seed Industry”).

The frequent occurrence of severe weather last year not only caused cotton farmers to suffer losses, but also laid a hidden danger for the development of seed enterprises this year. Zhang Jianwen said that early last year, the frost came early, and the low-temperature weather made the development of cotton seeds poor, and the overall quality of seeds was low. Last year, the germination rate of the main seed varieties operated by the company was only 80%-85%, which was inconsistent with the company's promised germination rate. Therefore, in order to ensure the seed quality and germination rate this year, the company did not sell the seeds produced last year, which is a loss to the company.

In the fierce market fluctuations, the friendly seed industry took very targeted hedging measures. Zhang Jianwen said that sales have encountered difficulties this year, but companies still insisted on introducing new varieties of cotton. The new varieties are more suitable for machine mining. They also have certain precocious characteristics and are very suitable for the current market demand. For other old varieties that have been sold for many years, Guarantee the seed quality as the premise, do not blindly pursue increase in sales. "The more the market declines, the more tightly the companies will take quality control." Zhang Jianwen said.

The downstream enterprises are in a better mood. Compared with seed companies and cotton growers, the textile and garment industry in the downstream of the cotton industry seems to be full of vitality. This contrasts sharply with the limitations of the previous year's planting and the disastrous downstream operations.

"The policy advantage is being magnified and this year will be better." Guo Jian, general manager of Bazhou Baijiahui Textile Co., Ltd., is full of confidence. The company is a company engaged in the production of cotton yarn, which requires a large amount of cotton each year.

Guo Jian said that in recent years, the textile and garment industry has gathered in Xinjiang, and policy advantages such as freight subsidy and low electricity prices have gradually emerged. After the cotton target price reform pilot, the cotton price is in line with the market, further magnified the textile and apparel industry. political advantage.

This year's cotton planting area has been reduced. Guo Jian believes that this is part of Xinjiang's agricultural planting structure optimization. Although cotton production may be reduced, the reduced cotton is not sufficient for raw material prices compared with the huge stocks and annual consumption of cotton. It has a significant impact, even if the price of cotton fluctuates, it should also be within the range that the company can afford.

The feeling of the clothing company is the same. Bazhou Shifangtong Textile Industry Co., Ltd. is a clothing manufacturing company. Zhang Zhouyuan, chairman of the company, introduced that the recent domestic cotton yarn market price has not experienced significant fluctuations. Therefore, the company did not reserve cotton yarn in advance, but purchased it at any time according to the demand for orders. Zhang Zhouyuan believes that the current adjustment of cotton area and changes in target prices have not yet affected the textile and clothing industry. This has created a rare time for the textile and apparel industry to recuperate. The company will make a breakthrough in brand building, style design, and employee training. Improve market competitiveness.