In recent years, the price of seed cotton in the Yangtze River Basin has been lower than that in the Yellow River Basin. Taking prices last week (mid-October) as an example, the purchase price of seed cotton in the Yangtze River Basin was 3.15-3.20 yuan/jin, while the purchase price of seed cotton in the Yellow River Basin was 3.45-3.50 yuan/jin. Although it is only a reference price, it shows that the current cotton prices in different regions are different. It should be noted that the coastal areas of Jiangsu, northern Jiangsu and the riverside areas of Anhui have always been the national high-quality cotton base and key main production areas. Cotton is affected by natural factors. , fiber length, strength, color and spinnability are all top-notch. But in recent years, why have the prices of seed cotton in the Yangtze River Basin been so low? There are probably three reasons for this:
First, cotton production is declining and not much attention is paid to it. The Yangtze River Basin was once the main cotton production area in the country except Xinjiang. However, in the past four to five years, the cotton planting area has been declining year by year due to various factors. The industrial structure has changed accordingly. Cotton has withdrawn from the main product varieties, and the importance has declined. Cotton planting area, varieties, production, circulation, etc. are mostly developed freely by farmers in small and scattered areas.
The second is the mixing of planting varieties, which reduces the overall quality of cotton. The history of large-scale continuous cotton planting in the Yangtze River Basin has become yesterday. Dispersed, fragmented, and aging cotton production have become the current situation of cotton production in recent years. The color, luster, lint, strength and other indicators of the cotton grown are not as good as in the past. Some cotton farmers pursue high quality. Yield and neglect of intrinsic quality lead to poor cotton color and strength.
Third, the purchase price quoted by cotton traders is lower than the market price. Since cotton planting areas are scattered, scattered locations, transportation and warehousing, etc. lead to increased acquisition costs, making it difficult to form the value-added advantage of lint and by-products. Therefore, in recent years, cotton dealers go to the countryside to purchase and then deliver them to cotton companies in batches. A cotton vendor calculated that if he only receives 1 ton of seed cotton in a day, the fuel consumption, wear and tear of the vehicle and labor costs will cost at least 500-600 yuan. Based on the profit of 0.20 yuan per kilogram of cotton, a ton of cotton only earns 400 yuan. After calculating this account, only by making a fuss about the purchase price can we avoid losing money. And even if the price is low, farmers are unwilling to sell. Disagreement in buying and selling has caused the embarrassing situation in the cotton market in traditional cotton-producing areas. It not only provides us with the reason why cotton prices in the Yangtze River Basin are low and unstable, but also allows us to once again see that a sound industrial chain has a continuous impact on the upstream and downstream industries. importance of development. </p