The
ICAC

June 2021
Volume XXXIX, No. 2
ISSN 1022-6303

ICAC

RecorderInternational Cotton Advisory Committee

Special Issue: Snippets on Cotton production & Trade 2021
Contents
This special issue of the RECORDER presents the essence of the ICAC DATABOOK 2021 that was publishedthis month. The DATABOOK has details on cotton production, fibre and seed processing and trade of textiles
and cotton by-products of 38 major cotton growing countries that cover more than 95% of the global cotton
production. Most of the data from each of the 38 countries has been summarised into figures, tables, charts andannexures. This edition of the RECORDER presents some of the main summary tables, figures and trends on area,
production, productivity, quantities and costs of inputs (water, fertilisers, pesticides, machinery, manpower etc.)
used, water footprint, different agronomic methods across the world, cost of production, cost of cultivation,
value of production, net returns from investment, trade data on fibres, yarn, textiles, linters, cotton seed,cottonseed oil etc. Greater data details and information can be found in the DATABOOK (publications@icac.org)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

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Editorial
Analysis without numbers is like painting without colours. Numbers spring to life when they tell you a story — if you choose to listen,that is. Otherwise, they are just dumb and lifeless digits. This edition of the ICAC RECORDER is a teaser for the COTTON DATABOOK
2021, which is full of numbers, graphs and figures that are fresh from the pan. I can vouch that for the hungry, they can be delicious.
This edition of the RECORDER presents a flavour of the DATABOOK published this month.
The COTTON DATABOOK is our annual flagship publication. The book has 555 pages of data collected from primary sources including government agencies, private companies, scientists, students and farmers, as well as secondary sources such as databases of several UN agencies. Contrary to what many would think, collecting data is not just getting proforma tables filled from primary sources.
Many a times, conversion of local units and local currencies into standard units leads to inadvertent mistakes that warrant data
verification. It takes a lot of effort to recalculate to ascertain correctness and verify the authenticity of the numbers from the primarysources, peer groups, scientific publications, independent reports and (sometimes) secondary data sources. However accurate one
may wish to be, agricultural data has its own limitations. Therefore, I personally consider these numbers as reliable indicators that
could reflect the ground situation to the best possible extent and which tell a story when placed in perspective of the big picture.
The ICAC DATABOOK has details on cotton production, fibre and seed processing, and trade of textiles and cotton by-products for 38
major cotton growing countries comprising more than 95% of the global cotton production. Most of the data from each of the 38
countries has been summarised into figures, tables, charts and annexures. This edition of the RECORDER presents some of the main
summary tables, figures and trends on area, production, productivity, quantities and costs of inputs (water, fertilisers, pesticides,
machinery, manpower, etc.) used, water footprint, different agronomic methods across the world, cost of production, cost of cultivation, value of production, net returns from investment, trade data on fibres, yarn, textiles, linters, cotton seed, cottonseed oil, etc. For
detailed information you may please get a copy of the DATABOOK from publications@icac.org.
The ICAC is known for its reliable data. Researchers, students, farmers, government agencies and the cotton industry contact us
often for information and data. We at the ICAC are always on the lookout for good reliable information from the most authentic
sources across the world so we can provide you the best possible data. Numbers form the core lifeline of science, trade, policies andgood governance. Reliable market intelligence helps in formulating the most remunerative trade policies. Reliable numbers can help
governments develop policies that help strengthen their environment, economy and social welfare. Data and trends help scientists
design better experiments and discuss their results in perspective. Data on agricultural inputs such as water, machinery, manpower,
energy and agrochemicals help to assess sustainability and devise ways to improve it. Needless to say, access to authentic data helps
design credible policies.
An Indian proverb says, ‘It takes a jeweller to recognize a true gem’. Today, information is an endless ocean. The deeper you dive, themore fathomless the water seems — but you will never return empty-handed from the journey. Searching the web has now become
an art. The Internet is a goldmine but it has plenty of ‘fool’s gold’ too. You can collect diamonds or end up in collecting pebbles or
dust depending on how good your key words are and how smart you are in selecting the right sources. We did our best to find anddig into the most reliable resources and strive to give you the best. I believe that the DATABOOK is a good data source that provides
many things to many people. I wish you happy surfing.
-Keshav Kranthi

Figures-1a, Cotton growing countries.

Figure 1b, Cotton growing regions

The ICAC RECORDER (ISSN 1022-6303) is published four times a year by the Secretariat of the International Cotton Advisory Committee,
1629 K Street, NW, Suite 702, Washington, DC 20006-1636, USA. Editor: Keshav Kranthi <keshav@icac.org>. Subscription rate: $220.00 hard copy.
Copyright © ICAC 2021. No reproduction is permitted in whole or part without the express consent of the Secretariat.

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The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Snippets from Recent
Global Cotton Production Data
Keshav Kranthi, Sandhya Kranthi and Lorena Ruiz
International Cotton Advisory Committee, Washington DC

Introduction
The new edition of the COTTON DATA BOOK 2021 published inJune 2021 has data on cotton production and cotton trade of 40
major cotton producing and consuming countries. Cotton production data include information from different cotton-growing provinces, states or regions of each of the countries. The
data book covers aspects related to number of farmers, area,
production, productivity (yield), seed processing, tillage
methods, planting methods, stalk usage, weeding practices,
methods of harvesting and ginning, spray application methods, fertilizer usage, cropping systems, water footprint, costof production, cost of cultivation etc. All the national averagevalues presented in the data book are weighted means derived
from the states, provinces and regions. Government coordinating agencies and researchers kindly provided the data. A few
countries publish their production data on web sites that wasaccessed as official source.

Figure-2. Cotton area

Cotton Area, Production and Productivity
Figure-1a, 1b, Global cotton map

Cotton acreage

Cotton was cultivated over an area of 31.66 million hectares.
Cotton in 2020 was cultivated in more than a million hectares in each of these six countries- India, USA, China, Pakistan,Brazil, and Uzbekistan. Together, these countries account for
more than 75% of the global cotton area. India leads in thearea under cotton production with almost 13 million hectares
that accounts for about 41% of the global area. (Fig. 2)

Cotton area trend

The global average cotton area was 32.917 million hectares(MHa) over 30 years from 1990 to 2020. Global acreage washighest at 36.1 MHa in 1995. Interestingly, area remained highat 33.3 MHa to 34.2 MHa from 1996 to 2001 and at 34.5 MHa
to 35.5 MHa during the period 2004 to 2007. Cotton acreage
increased to recent high at 34.8 MHa in 2019. (Fig. 3)

Cotton productivity

The global average productivity (yield Kg/Ha) in 2020 was 761
kg lint per hectare in a range from 700 to 800 Kg/Ha over the
past 15 years since 2004. Amongst the major cotton growing
countries, Australia is predicted to have the highest productivity of 1,905 kg lint per hectare in 2020 in the world. Six countries, namely, Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico and Turkey,
have crossed the yield mark of 1500 kg/ha. Over the past 20-25

Figure-3. Cotton Area Trend 1990-2020

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

years, cotton productivity in China, Brazil and Greece has been
consistently more than the global average yield. Eleven Africancountries harvested the lowest yields in the world. (Fig. 4)
Figure-4. Cotton Lint Yield (Kg/Ha)

3799-805 Kg/Ha in 2007, 2012, 2013 and 2017. Interestingly
yields increased over the years with a decadal average of 576
Kg/Ha during 1990-1999, 718 Kg/Ha during 2000-2009 and
776 Kg/Ha during 2010-2019. (Fig. 5)

Cotton lint production

Global production is forecast to reach 24.1 million tonnes in
2020. India, China, USA and Brazil lead in cotton production
producing more than 2 million tonnes each. Together, the four
countries account for 21.1 million hectares and produce 17.9
million tonnes, which in percentage accounts for 66.6 percentof the global area under cotton and 74.4 percent of global production.
Figure-6. Cotton Lint Production

Cotton yield trend
The global average cotton yield was 692 Kg lint per hectare over
30 years from 1990 to 2020. Yield reached the highest point at
Figure-5. Global Lint Yield Trend 1990-2020

Cotton lint production trend
The global average production was 19.5 million tonnes (Mt)per year during 1990 to 2003. Production increased to a higher annual average of 25.5 Mt during the period 2004 to 2020.
One of the main reasons for increase in production after 2004
is the significant increase in area and production in India. India’s production increased from 3.0 Mt in 2003 to 5.2 Mt in2007 and increased further to 6.76 Mt in 2013. India’s averageannual production during the last 10 years from 2011 to 2020
was 6.2 Mt. (Fig. 7)

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Figure-7. Lint Production: Trend 1990-2020

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-8. Seed Cost (Us$) per Hectare

Cost of Cultivation: Input Costs per
HectareCost of cultivation data was provided by officials and researchers. Data of Australia, USA and India were compiled from official websites. All values were converted from local currencies
to US$ based on the prevalent conversion rates of 2020.

Seed cost per hectare

The world average seed cost per hectare is US$ 84. Seed costis dependent on the type of seed- whether it is a geneticallymodified variety or a genetically modified hybrid or a non-GM
variety. It is important to mention that most countries acrossthe globe cultivate cotton varieties. India has the largest acreage of cotton in the world. India cultivates Bt hybrids in morethan 90% of it’s area and incurs a seed cost ranging from US$
33 to US$ 77 per hectare. The seed cost per hectare acrossthe globe ranges from US$ 0 to US$ 418 per hectare. Togo,
Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Chad, Zambia, Bangladesh, Malawi,
Uganda, Burkina Faso and Kenya incur less than US$ 10 as seed
cost per hectare. Australia, Colombia, USA, Brazil and China incur seed costs ranging from US$ 167 to US$ 418 per hectare
mainly towards the high cost of proprietary GM seed. (Fig. 8)

Fertiliser cost per hectare
Fertilisers are the important inputs that contribute to highyields if used through precision technologies. However, chemical fertilisers also contribute to high costs of cotton cultivation. Fertiliser cost per hectare is influenced both by the typeof fertiliser used as well as the cost of fertilisers in a country.
The world average fertilizer cost per hectare on cotton is US$
218. Cotton farmers from 11 countries across the globe- USA,
Turkey, Greece, South Africa, Brazil, Spain, Egypt, Bangladesh,
Colombia, Australia and China spend more than 218 US$/Ha
towards fertiliser costs. Fertiliser use per hectare is the highest in China (855 US$/ha) followed by Australia where farmers spend between 358-594 US$ per hectare. Fertiliser usage isvery low in Africa therefore the low cost. However, low cost in
many countries is primarily due to fertilizer subsidies on urea
and fertiliser support to selected P& K fertilisers. (Fig. 9)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-9. Fertiliser cost (US$) per hectare

Pesticide costs per hectare
Pesticide costs range from US$ 14 to US$ 742 per hectare witha global average of US$ 148 per hectare. The top five countries
with the highest pesticide costs per hectare are Spain, Brazil,
Greece, parts of South Africa and USA. Pesticide costs of the 3
top cotton growing countries, India, China and USA are US$ 58,
US$ 341 and US$ 207 per hectare respectively. Most countries inAfrica use less than US$ 100 on pesticides per hectare. (Fig. 10)

Insecticide costs per hectare

In developed countries, chemical insecticides have become an
integral input for cotton cultivation. The world incurs an average insecticide cost of US$ 94 per hectare of cotton. This value
depends on the type, dose, cost, and frequency of applicationof the insecticides. Some countries, like Brazil, incur about 3.5
times higher than the world average of insecticide cost per
hectare. Uzbekistan on the other hand, reported negligible
cost on insecticides. The value of insecticide costs in the three

Figure-10. Pesticide cost (US$) per hectare

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dominant cotton producing countries of the world are US$
58, US$ 52 and US$ 250 per hectare, in India, USA and China,
respectively. It is interesting to note that many African countries do not cultivate Bt cotton. Yet, insecticide costs per hectare is less than half the world average as in Zambia, Malawi,
Mozambique, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Chad, Burkina Faso,
Ivory Coast and Mali. (Fig. 11)

Weeding costs per hectare

The global average cost per hectare on weeding is US$ 90.
Weeding costs across the globe, range from US$ 13 to US$ 382
per hectare. Spain did not report any specific costs incurred on
herbicides or weeding. These costs are influenced by the typeof weeding (hand/herbicide) and the labour costs that are incurred on weeding. Weeding costs per hectare are the highest in Bangladesh, followed by Greece, Mexico, Sudan, parts ofIndia, China, and Mali. Weeding costs are less than US$ 20 inZambia, Pakistan, and Chad. (Fig. 12)

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Figure-11. Insecticide cost (US$) per hectare

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-12. Weeding cost (US$) per hectare

Machine-use cost per hectare
Major cotton growing African countries barely use machines
in their cotton production operations, as indicated by themachine-use cost of less than US$ 100 per hectare. Ethiopia,
Mozambique and Sudan incur machine costs slightly higher
than rest of the African countries. India, that cultivates thelargest acreage of cotton, incurs a machine-use cost less than
the world average, relying heavily on the use of manual labour.
Machine-use cost is highest in Australia where the national average is US$ 2,782 that is at least 8.5-fold higher than the world
average machine-use cost per hectare. Large farm holdings andscarce availability of manual labour has driven mechanizedfarm operations in Australia, China, Spain, Greece, Turkey,
Mexico, Brazil, USA and parts of South Africa that also incur amachine cost over and above the world average. (Fig. 13)

Manpower costs per hectare

Manpower cost per hectare ranged from US$ 9.0 to US$ 1,437.
The world average manpower cost per hectare was US$ 488.

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Figure-13. Machine-use cost (US$) per hectare

China and Egypt incurred more than US$ 1000 per hectare on
manpower cost. Brazil relies heavily on machinery for farm operations and therefore incurred manpower costs less than one
fourth that of the world average. Costs on manpower wages
and consultants is high in Australia, which explains the highmanpower costs per hectare. Thus, despite intensive farmmechanization, Australia spent considerable amount on manpower cost per hectare. (Fig. 14)

Ginning cost per hectare

Ginning cost per hectare depends on cotton productivity (yield/
Ha) and the actual costs per Kg seed-cotton or lint. The cost ofginning across cotton growing countries ranged from US$ 28
to 660 for cotton produced per hectare. The world average ginning cost per hectare is US$148. Egypt, Greece, Ethiopia, Iran,Pakistan, South Africa, USA, China and Australia and parts of
Mexico and Brazil, incur ginning costs that are above the world
average. The ginning costs are highest in Australia, parts ofUSA, irrigated north cape in South Africa and China. Ginningcost is low in Africa and India. (Fig. 15)

Figure-14. Manpower cost (US$) per hectare

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The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-15. Ginning cost (US$) per hectare

Figure-16. Production cost (US$) per Kg lint

Cost of Production: Input Costs per Kg/Lb
Lint or Kg Seed-Cotton Produced

Trend (2001-2020) in the cost per Kg lint produced

Methodology
Production cost of Kg lint = (Cost of cultivation + ginning cost- seed value) / Lint produced (Kg)
Production cost of Kg seed cotton = (Cost of cultivation) /Seed-cotton produced (Kg)

Cost of production (Kg lint)

The world average production cost per Kg of lint was US$ 1.16
in 2019-2020. Zambia, Argentina and Turkey incur a production cost of 13, 28 and 60 cents to produce a Kg of lint. In contrast Colombia-Cordoba, Malawi, Egypt, China, Spain, Togo,
Uzbekistan and parts of Australia spent more than US$ 1.5 forevery kilogram of lint produced. (Fig. 16)

The global average cost to produce one Kg lint declined from
US$ 1.34 was in 2019 to US$ 1.18 in 2020. (Fig.17)

Cost of production (lb lint)

The world average production cost per lb of lint was 53 cents.
Zambia, Argentina and Turkey incur a production cost of 6, 13
and 27 cents to produce a lb of lint. In contrast Murrumbidgee
in Australia incurred a production cost of 85 cents per lb of lint
produced. (Fig. 18)

Cost of production (Kg seed-cotton)

Production costs on seed cotton vary 9-fold across the globe
from US$ 0.09 to US$ 0.82 per Kg of seed cotton at a global
average of US$ 0.55. Production costs are lowest in Zambia,
Argentina, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Pakistan, parts of USA,
Mexico, Ethiopia and parts of Brazil. The production cost per
Kg of seed cotton is the highest in parts of India, Australia,
Egypt, Malawi and China. (Fig. 19)

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Figure-17. Production cost per Kg lint produced:
Trend 2001-2020

Figure-19. Production cost (US$) per Kg seed-cotton

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Figure-18. Production cost (US$) per lb lint

Cost of production (lb seed-cotton)
Production costs on seed cotton vary 9-fold across the globe
from US cents 4 to 37 cents per lb of seed cotton at a global average of 25 cents. Production costs are lowest in Zambia
and Argentina. The production cost per Kg of seed cotton is thehighest in parts of India, Australia, Egypt, Malawi and China.
(Fig. 20)

Cost of weeding per Kg lint produced

Costs on weeding incurred varied across the world from US$
0.02 to US$ 0.43 per Kg lint produced. The world average weeding costs are US$ 0.11 per Kg of lint produced. Bangladesh,
Zimbabwe, Mali, Mozambique and Sudan incur the highest
weeding costs per Kg of lint produced while Spain, Pakistan,
Mexico, Colombia and parts of Australia and South Africa incur
the least in terms of weeding costs (US$) per Kg of lint produced. (Fig. 21)

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Figure-20. Production cost (US$) per lb seed-cotton

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-21. Weeding cost (US$) per Kg lint produced

Trend (2001-2020) in the cost of weeding per Kg
lint produced
The global average cost of weeding to produce one Kg seed-cotton decreased significantly from 31 cents in 2013 to 11 centsin 2020. (Fig. 22)

Trend (2001-2020): Cost per Kg seed-cotton
produced

The global average cost to produce one Kg seed-cotton increased to an all-time high of 55 cents in 2020, compared to
45-46 cents during 2016 to 2019. (Fig. 23)

Cost of fertiliser per Kg lint produced

The cost of fertilizer towards producing one kilogram of lint
ranged from less than ten cents (US$ 0.01) to 46 cents (US$0.46). Fertilizer use efficiency (costs/Kg of lint) is dependent
on the cost and amount of fertilizer used in a country, on cotton,
in addition to the yields and ginning outturn. Farmers on an

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 22. Weeding cost per Kg lint produced: Trend 2001-2020

Figure-24. Fertiliser cost (US$) per Kg lint

Figure 23. Cost per Kg seed-cotton produced: Trend 2001-2020

average, across the globe, spent 27 cents (0.27 US$) to produce
a kilogram of lint. The fertiliser costs incurred to produce a Kg
lint were higher than the world average in parts of India, USASouthern Seaboard, Colombia-Cordoba, Spain, Bangladesh,
Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Egypt and China. (Fig. 24)

Trend (2001-2020) in the cost of fertiliser per Kg
lint produced

Fertiliser cost per Kg lint produced increased to an all-timehigh of 31 cents in 2019 but decreased marginally to 27 centsin 2020. (Fig. 25)

Insecticide cost (US$) per Kg lint

The insecticide expenses incurred per Kg of lint produced
ranged from US$ 0 to US$ 0.55. The world average insecticide
required to produce one Kg of lint was US$ 0.12. Insecticides
used per Kg of lint are highest in parts of South Africa, partsof India, Zimbabwe, Spain, Colombia-Cordoba, Sudan, Greece,
Egypt and Brazil. The amount used to produce one Kg lint isFigure-25. Fertiliser cost (US$) per Kg lint produced:

Trend 2001-2020

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less in Uzbekistan, Mexico, parts of South Africa, Australia andOdisha in India. (Fig. 26)
Figure-26. Insecticide cost (US$) per kg lint

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-27. Insecticide cost (US$) per Kg lint produced:
Trend 2001-2020

Figure-28. Ginning cost (US$) per Kg lint

Trend (2001-2020) in the insecticide cost (US$) per
Kg lint produced
Insecticide cost per Kg lint produced increased to an all-time highof 18 cents in 2019 but decreased to 12 cents in 2020. interestingly, this value of 12 cents is an all-time low in 20 years. (Fig. 27)

Ginning cost (US$) per Kg lint

Global average ginning cost per kilogram of lint is US$ 0.19.
The costs ranged from US$ 0.07 to US$ 0.51 per kilogram oflint over 36 countries. The average ginning cost per kilogramof lint in the US was US$ 0.34 which was 79% higher than theworld average. Fourteen countries (China, Australia, Tanzania,
Greece, Argentina, Ethiopia, Togo, Iran, South Africa, Chad, Pakistan, USA and parts of India and Colombia incur higher ginning costs compared to the world average. (Fig. 28)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Trend (2007-2020) in the ginning cost (US$) per Kg
lint produced
Ginning cost per Kg lint produced had decreased to an all-time
low of 14 cents in 2019 but increased to 19 cents in 2020. (Fig. 29)

Figure-30. Cost of cultivation (US$) per hectare

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Figure 29. Ginning cost per Kg lint produced:
Trend 2007-2020

Cost of Cultivation & Net Returns per
HectareCost of cultivation
The world average cultivation cost per hectare is US$ 1,166.
The total cost of cultivation across the world ranges from US$
91 to US$ 5,114. African countries have the lowest costs of cultivation while Australia, Brazil, China, South Africa, Greece andMexico have the highest cultivation costs. The total cost of cultivation in Australia and China is at least 2.5 times higher than
the world average. (Fig. 30)

Value of lint (US$) produced per hectare

The value of lint produced per hectare depends on the productivity, ginning%, quality and the local price per Kg of fair average quality lint. The world average of lint value is US$ 1385
per hectare. Lint value across countries ranged from US$ 336
to US$ 5,439 per hectare. About 11 countries recorded lint values over and above the world average. Cotton yields are low inmost countries of Africa and some states of India; therefore,
the value of lint per hectare is lowest in these countries. Australia has the world’s highest lint value per hectare because ofhigh yields. (Fig. 31)

Net returns (US$) on lint per hectare

Net return on lint was calculated by subtracting the production cost of lint per hectare from the total commercial valueof lint per hectare. Production cost of lint was calculated byadding ginning cost to the cost of production per hectare andsubtracting the market value of cotton seed obtained from ginning. The world average net return on lint was US$ 453 perhectare. Murrumbidgee and Namoi in Australia recorded anegative net return value on lint per hectare (2019 data). The
inclusion of land value, lant rent, taxes etc., in the production
cost calculations also results in negative returns. Low net returns or negative returns could indicate higher cost of producing lint or low prices. The range of net returns on lint per hectare in those countries that had a positive net return value was
US$ 14-1937. Parts of Australia and Mexico, Turkey, China andBrazil recorded more than 1000 US$ as net returns on lint per
hectare. (Fig. 32)

Net returns (US$) on seed-cotton per hectare

Increasing cost of cultivation, low yields and/or decreasing
market price of seed cotton, could result in negative net returns
on seed cotton per hectare. Negative net returns for seed cotton
per hectare was recorded in four African countries. Positive net
return values on seed cotton per hectare ranged up to US$ 2521.
Countries such as USA, Australia, Turkey. China, Brazil, Pakistan,
Mexico and South Africa demonstrated positive net returns thatwere more than 5 times the world average. (Fig. 33)

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Figure 31. Value of lint (US$) per hectare

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-32. Net returns (US$) on lint per hectare

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Figure-33. Net returns (US$) on seed-cotton per hectare

Input Costs: Proportion of Total Cost of
Cultivation
Seed cost as % of cultivation cost
The global average seed costs account for only 6% of the total
cultivation cost. While seed costs range from 0 to 19% of cultivation costs across cotton growing countries, the proportionis low in Togo, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Bangladesh, Chad,
Malawi, Turkey and African countries that predominantly use
farm saved seeds. (Fig. 34)

Fertiliser cost as % of cultivation costFertilizer cost as % of cultivation cost ranged from 0 to 31%.
The world average fertilizer cost as percentage of cultivation
cost was 15%. The fertilizer cost as percentage of cultivation
cost increased in those countries where fertilizer cost was highand/or its use is high. The proportional fertiliser costs wereabove the world average in 15 countries. The value is zero to

Figure-34. Seed cost as % of cultivation cost.

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less than 1 for the 3 African countries- Uganda, Mozambiqueand Ethiopia. (Fig. 35)

Pesticide cost as % of cultivation cost

Pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth
regulators etc. The global average on pesticide-costs is only
10% of the cultivation costs. The values range from 2% to37% of the total cost of cultivation across the cotton growing
countries. The top six countries where pesticides contributeto a higher percentage of the cultivation costs are Zimbabwe(23%), Brazil (29-37%), Spain (35%), USA (16% to 23%) and
Colombia (21% to 22%). Pesticides contribute to less than
10% of the total cultivation cost in parts of India, Uzbekistan,
Australia, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Egypt, Uganda, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mali, China, Mozambique and Malawi. (Fig. 36).

Machinery cost as % of cultivation cost

The world average of machinery cost as percentage of cultivation cost was 23%. The proportion of machinery costs ranged

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Figure-35. Fertilizer cost as % of cultivation cost.

from 0 to 86%. Australia, USA and Mexico reported the highest
proportion of machinery costs as percentage pf total cost ofcultivation. Zambia, Uganda, Mali, Iran, Kenya and Burkina Faso
are the 6 countries where machinery costs are not incurred.
Amongst African countries, machinery costs as percentage ofcultivation costs are the highest in Mozambique. (Fig. 37)

Manpower cost as % of cultivation cost

The world average manpower costs as percentage of cultivation costs was 35%. Manpower costs were lower in thosecountries where machinery costs were higher as percentage
of cultivation costs. Manpower costs contributed to a highpercentage of the cultivation costs (more than half the cultivation cost) in twelve countries, namely, India, Bangladesh, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Iran, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. The proportion of manpower costs
to total cultivation costs was low in South Africa, Argentina,
Brazil, Spain, Australia, USA and Mexico. (Fig. 38)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-36. Pesticide cost as % of cultivation cost

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Figure-37. Machinery cost as % of cultivation cost.

Figure-38. Manpower cost as % of cultivation cost.

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The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Ginning cost as % of cultivation cost

Pesticide use in agriculture

The global average ginning cost as percentage of cultivation
cost was 11%. The proportion of ginning costs to the total costof cultivation ranged from 4% to 38%. Zambia reported thehighest ginning costs as percentage of cultivation cost in theworld. (Fig. 39)

In terms of volume, China, USA, Brazil and Argentina used
the largest amount of pesticide in Agriculture (Table 2). China alone accounts for more than half the global pesticide consumption in agriculture. USA, Brazil and Argentina together
account for about 30% of the global pesticide usage. (Table 2)

Figure-39. Ginning cost as % of cultivation cost.

Pesticide Usage
Global pesticide market 2017-2019
The total global pesticide market was worth US$ 59.8 billion in2019 (Table-1). Cotton had a market share of 4.71% of all thepesticides sold globally. Amongst pesticides, herbicides had
the highest market share followed by fungicides/bactericides
and insecticides. However, amongst all pesticides, the sale ofinsecticides was highest on cotton at US$ 1.55 billion with amarket share of 10.24% of all insecticides used in global crop
protection. (Table 1)

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Table 1. Global Crop Protection Pesticide Market (US$ Million) 2017-2019
Global sales all crops

Global sales on cotton% Share of cotton

2017

2018

2019

2017

2018

2019

2017

2018

Herbicide sales

25,16026,563

26,175

609.6

727.5

761.4

2.42

2.74

2019
2.91

Insecticide sales

14,06015,121

15,146

1,473

1,629

1,551

10.48

10.78

10.24

Fungicide sales

15,73916,473

16,356

152.4

189.2

169.2

0.97

1.15

1.03

Other pesticide sales

2,044

2,148

2,150

304.8

363.8

338.4

14.91

16.93

15.74

Global pesticide sales

57,00360,304

59,827

2,540

2,910

2,820

4.46

4.83

4.71

Data estimates: Kranthi, ICAC

Table 2. Pesticide Use on all Crops (Metric Tonnes) 2018
China
United States of America
BrazilArgentina
Russian Federation
Australia
Spain
TurkeyIndia
MexicoMalaysia
Colombia
South Africa
MyanmarBangladesh
Kazakhstan
TaiwanGreeceTurkmenistan
Egypt
Iran
IsraelEthiopia
Sudan
Malawi
Zimbabwe
ZambiaIndonesia
Kenya
Cameroon
Togo
Burkina Faso
Mozambique
Kyrgyzstan
Azerbaijan
Ghana
Tajikistan
Côte d'Ivoire
UgandaChadCentral African Republic
Niger

Insecticides

Herbicides

Fungicides Etc.,

Others

65,77160,607
3,747
10,19814,196
6,488
16,06920,61912,991
3,547
5,188
6,158
4,249
2,184
528
2,830
2,258
1,294
3,199
1,756
525
638
654
575
1,092
476
929
303
243
522
186
200
165
169
155
70
75
42
42
22
21

255,826
234,384
161,50234,532
43,78916,593
14,794
6,335
11,55237,452

24,04059,124
3,427
26,164
4,544
38,06723,047
13,05528,601
3,021
7,214
8,928
4,023
11,758
1,074
2,917
2,014
7,738
3,599
1,100
2,843
377
84
420
360
328
224
711
705
19
0
122
43
276
30
68
8
38
0
0
0

62,142
23,061
4,252
5,475
887
195
6,110
18,1510
95
25,371
2,302
129
7
405
410
2,946
0
1
2,421
1,344
3
63
183
184
616
90
2
8
43
0
5
-1
39
13
57
0
0
0
1
0

9,469
6,925
1,195
11,051
4,392
2,714
680
1,245
1,564
1,381
3,110
1,668
1,180
549
250
354
562
417
709
657
442
400
59
194
70
10
8
0

Total Pesticides
1,773,689
407,779
377,176
172,928
76,36963,416
61,34360,02058,16053,144
44,11537,773
26,857
15,32615,144
13,058
10,549
9,932
9,712
8,044
6,841
6,093
4,128
2,469
2,358
2,185
1,670
1,597
1,578
1,373
1,293
843
769
607
543
392
265
93
88
42
23
21

Mali

3

1

4

Pakistan

0

0

0

1

1

Tanzania

1

0

0

0

1

Data source FAO)

20

Pesticide use kg per hectare
China, Israel and Brazil had the highest average pesticide application per hectare. Pesticide use is very low in Africa. The
per hectare usage of pesticides is also low in India. China, Israel, Brazil, Malaysia, Turkmenistan and Argentina use morethan 4.0 Kg pesticide per hectare. (Fig. 40)
Figure-40. Pesticide use Kg per hectare

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Irrigation (blue) water footprint per Kg lint
producedBlue water footprint presented here is not the same as irrigation water-use-efficiency. Blue water footprint represents theamount of irrigation water used in addition to rainfall received,
to produce one Kg lint. At least fifteen African cotton growing
countries do not use irrigation water to cultivate cotton hence
the blue water used to produce 1Kg of lint is considered aszero. Twenty countries use blue water ranging from 17 litres(as in Brazil) to 13,696 (as in Turkmenistan) to produce 1Kgof lint. Variability in the use of irrigation water to produce 1Kgof lint was 805-fold across the globe. The world average blue
water used to produce a kilogram of lint was 1931 litres. The
top four cotton growing countries- India, China, USA and Brazil
use 1237, 1552, 1380 and 17 litres of blue water respectively
to cultivate a kilogram of cotton lint. (Fig. 41)
Figure-41. Irrigation (Blue) water footprint
per Kg lint produced

Water Usage
Data on irrigation water (Blue) and rainwater (Green) wascollected from databases, web sites, research publications, researchers, farmers and officials. Irrigation data of USA was of2018 and most countries of 2019 or 2020 but the calculationsof water footprint were based on production of 2020. Therefore, the data has limitations and must be considered only as
indicative.
1. Irrigation water footprint (Litres per Kg lint produced) =Total irrigation water provided / Total lint produced (Kg).
2. Rainwater footprint (Litres per Kg lint produced) = Total
effective rainfall received / Total lint produced (Kg).
3. Effective rainfall was calculated from the total seasonalrainfall based on the soil type of the region and ranged
from 60 to 75% of the seasonal rainfall.
4. Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) was calculated from meteorological data by means of the FAO Penman-Monteithequation.

Rain (green) water footprint (‘000 litres) per Kg lint
produced
Effective rainfall was calculated based on soil types. the total amount of effective rainfall used for cotton production isshown here as green water (‘000 litres) per Kg lint produced.
Low yields invariably result in a high green water footprint in

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

rainfed countries with high precipitation rates. The world average green water, to produce a kilogram of lint is 6003 litres.
The green water footprint in majority of the cotton growing
countries in Africa is about 10,000 to 42,300 litres of rainwater per Kg lint produced. Ironically excessive rainfall depresses
yields due to waterlogging in poor drained fields. In contrast,
countries with low rainfall such as Egypt, China, Australia, Iranand Mexico use less than 2,000 litres of green water for every
kilogram of lint produced. (Fig. 42)

Figure-43. Irrigation water (billion litres)used for cotton production

21

Figure-42. Rain (green) water footprint(‘000 litres) per Kg lint produced

Rainfed area
On an average 52% of cotton area in the world is rainfed. At
least thirteen African cotton growing countries are entirely
rainfed and cotton cultivation is fully dependent on green water. In contrast, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Kazakhstan andEgypt cultivate cotton entirely under irrigation. The top four
countries have varied levels of rainfed areas with India at 65%,
USA 63%, China 2.0% and Brazil at 87%. Australia that has thehighest productivity produces cotton under rainfed conditionin 20% of its area. (Fig. 44)

Fertiliser Usage
Irrigation water (billion litres) used for cotton
production
About 95% of cotton in Africa is rainfed. Majority of the African countries depend solely on rainfall for cotton production.
The total amount of irrigation water (in billion litres written asMm3) used on cotton is 4,940 Mm3 in USA; 6,564 Mm3 in Uzbekistan, 7,774 Mm3 in India, 9,170 Mm3 in China and 10,422
Mm3 in Pakistan. Australia, that is often stricken by drought
uses 986 Mm3 of water for irrigation. An estimated 48,338 trillion litres of irrigation water were used for cotton production
in 2018-2019. (Fig. 43)

Data on fertiliser usage either as total quantities used in cottonor per hectare of NPK was provided by officials and researchers and was sourced from data published by FAO and OECD.

Nitrogen application Kg per hectare

The world average nitrogen use is 132 Kg per hectare. Amongst
all the nutrients, nitrogen is the most important nutrient forcotton growth and productivity. However, amongst all nutrients, nitrogen contributes the most directly to global warming
by emitting nitrous oxide (NO2) and ammonia (NH3). At least
seven countries, namely, Australia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, China, India and Brazil apply nitrogen quantities higher

22

Figure-44. % Rainfed area

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

than the global average. Nitrogen application is lowest across
Africa. Very few African countries have domestic fertilizer
manufacturing plants. The retail price of fertilisers in Africa is
at least 3-6 times higher compared to many developing countries. Thus, there is very less economic incentive for the use offertilisers in Africa. (Fig. 45)

NPK application Kg per hectare

The world average use of nitrogen + phosphorus + potassium(NPK) is 219 Kg per hectare. NPK are the major nutrients forcotton growth and productivity. The usage of phosphorus andpotassium fertilizers could lead to eutrophication but does not
result in serious greenhouse gas emissions. At least eight countries, namely, Australia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Pakistan, China, India and Brazil apply NPK quantities higher than
the global average. NPK application is lowest across Africa.
Chemical fertilisers are very expensive in Africa compared tomany other countries of the world. The use of NPK is therefore
lowest in Africa. (Fig. 46)
Figure 46. NPK application Kg per hectare

Figure 45. Nitrogen application Kg per hectare

Nitrogen and NPK use efficiency
The global average nitrogen use efficiency is 173 grams per
kg lint produced. The global average NPK use efficiency is 287
grams per kg lint produced At least four countries, namely, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, India and Egypt have a lesser fertilizer use
efficiency compared to the global average. Interestingly, thefertilizer use efficiency is very high across majority of the African continent, due to low application rates despite low yields.

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure-47a. Nitrogen use efficiency (grams per Kg lint produced)

Seed Usage and Byproducts

23

Use of fuzzy seeds for planting (sowing)
At least six African countries use 100% fuzzy seeds for sowing.
More than 50% of the area is sown with fuzzy seeds in at least
eight countries, namely, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Malawi, Uzbekistan and Kenya. Amongst the Africancountries, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sudan, South Africa and Ethiopia reported 98-100% de-linted seeds for sowing. (Fig. 48)
Figure-48. Use of fuzzy seeds for planting (sowing)

Figure-47b. NPK use efficiency (grams per Kg lint produced)

Seeds crushed for oil
Cotton seed oil is a valuable commercial commodity. Majorityof the cotton growing countries crush cotton seeds to extract
oil at a variable average extraction efficiency of 10 to 18% witha global average extraction efficiency of 11.59%. A few countries use most of the cotton seeds directly as cattle feed. Cotton
seed meal is exported by many countries. A few countries also
waste cotton seeds due to the lack of infrastructure required
for seed processing. (Fig. 49)

Cotton-seed oil production

Five million metric tonnes of cotton-seed oil were produced in2020. Seven countries, namely, India, China, Brazil, Pakistan,USA, Uzbekistan and Turkey accounted for 86.55% of the global cotton-seed oil production. (Fig. 50)

24

Figure 49. Crushed for oil

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Cotton seed production (‘000 Tonnes)

A total of 43.67 million tonnes of cotton seeds were produced
in 2020. The average oil extraction efficiency across the globe
was 11.59%. India and China together account for 52.87% of
the global cotton seed production. United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Australia and Turkey together account for
34.76% of the global cotton seed production. (Fig. 51)
Figure-51. Cotton seed production (‘000 Tonnes)

Figure-50. Cotton-seed oil production (‘000 Tonnes)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Cotton seed-meal production (‘000 Tonnes)
About 40 cotton growing countries produce 15.4 million
tonnes of cotton seed meal that are as cattle feed. India, China
and Brazil together account for 69.0% of the global cotton seedmeal production. Pakistan, USA, Turkey and Uzbekistan are theother major producers who together account for 18.4% of the
global production. (Fig. 52)
Figure-52. Seed-meal production (‘000 Tonnes)

Trade of Cotton Linters, Seeds andByproducts (2020)
Carded and combed exports
The global value of carded and combed cotton exports was US$
190.2 million. The top five exporting countries USA, Uganda,
Indonesia, India and Mexico commanded a share of 60% in in
the export market. USA exported carded and combed cotton
worth US$ 40.9 million in 2020. (Fig. 53)

Carded and combed imports

The global value of carded and combed cotton exports was US$
213.5 million. Vietnam, France, Taiwan, Poland, Spain, UK, Russian federation, South Africa, Bangladesh and Japan imported
70% of the globally traded carded and combed cotton. These
top ten countries accounted for 70% of the total global importsof carded and combed cotton. (Fig. 54)

Figure 53. Carded and combed exports (‘000 US$)

25

26

Figure 54. Carded and combed imports (‘000 US$)

Crude seed oil exports

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

The total globally traded crude cotton seed oil export business
was worth US$ 13.8 million in 2020. Crude cotton seed was exported by about a dozen countries. The top five countries Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, USA, Benin and South Africa accounted
for 95% of the globally exported crude cotton seed oil. (Fig. 55)
Figure 55. Crude cotton seed oil exports (‘000 US$)The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

27

Crude seed oil imports

Cotton oil exports

The import market of crude cotton seed oil was worth US$ 19.4
million. Central Asian countries were the main crude cotton
seed oil importers. The top five importers, namely, Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Nigeria import 90% of
the global crude cotton seed oil traded. (Fig. 56)

The global cotton seed oil exports were worth US$ 96.4 million. Interestingly, the top ten countries that exported 92% of
the globally traded cotton seed oil are geographically distributed all over the globe. The top ten cotton seed oil exporting
countries were USA, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, South
Africa, Turkey, Brazil, Zambia, China and Benin. (Fig. 57)

Figure 56. Crude cotton seed oil import (‘000 US$)

Figure 57. Cotton seed oil exports (‘000 US$)28

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Cotton oil imports

Linter exports

The cotton seed oil import market was worth US$ 111.6 million. Australia imported US$ 28.47 million worth of cotton
seed oil and is the world’s largest cotton oil importer. The top
five countries, namely, Australia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Tajikistan
and Mexico imported cotton seed oil worth US$ 70.8 million
with a share of 63% in the import market. (Fig. 58)

The global linters export market was US$ 86.8 million. South
Africa exported linters worth US$ 36.5 million with the world’s
largest market share of 42%. The top five countries, namely,
South Africa, Zambia, India, USA and Brazil together earned
US$ 73.7 million from linter exports and accounted for 85% of
the global market share. (Fig. 59)

Figure 58. Cotton seed oil imports (‘000 US$)

Figure 59. Linter exports (‘000 US$)The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Linter imports

The total value of global linter import is US$ 70.7 million. In
2020, China imported 36% of the globally traded linters worth
25.14 million. The top five countries, China, Japan, Bangladesh,
Spain and Mauritius imported 85% of global total linters valued at US$ 60.25 million. (Fig. 60)
Figure 60. Linter imports (‘000 US$)

Cotton seed exports
The global seed export market was US$ 184.6 million. This
market deals with cotton seeds used for purposes other thansowing. United States of America and Greece exported cotton
seeds worth US$ 149.5 million and are the world’s largest cotton seed exporters with a market share of 81%. Ethiopia andBrazil are the other two major cotton seed exporters with a
10% market share. (Fig. 61)

Cotton seed imports

The global cotton seed imports business was worth US$ 194.6
million. The top five countries, namely, Italy, Korea, Saudi
Arabia, Japan and Mexico accounted for 85% of the total cotton seed import market. The top five countries imported cotton seeds worth US$ 164 million. (Fig. 62)

Figure 61. Cotton seed exports (‘000 US$)

29

30

Figure 62. Cotton seed imports (‘000 US$)

Cotton seed for sowing exports
The global market value of cotton seeds exported for sowing purposes is US$ 36.9 million. Six countries, namely, USA,
Turkey, Israel, Netherlands, Greece and India were the largest cotton seed (for sowing) exporters in 2020 with a market
share of 88%. (Fig. 63)

Cotton seeds for sowing imports

The global import market of cotton seeds (for sowing purposes) was US$ 33.4 million. Azerbaijan, USA, Mexico, Zimbabwe
and Greece imported seeds worth US$ 21.97 million and accounted for 66% share in the global cotton seed (for sowing)
import market. (Fig. 64)

Cotton mill waste exports

India was the world’s largest cotton mill waste exporter witha market share of 21% in the total global export market worth

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 63. Cotton seeds exported for sowing purposes (‘000 US$)

US$ 398.7 million. India, Pakistan, Turkey, Germany andBelgium together exported cotton mill waste valued at US$
253.2 million and accounted for 66% share in the global export
market of cotton mill waste. (Fig. 65)

Cotton mill waste imports

The total global cotton mill waste import market was US$
394.7 million. Germany was the largest importer of cotton millwaste worth US$ 81.9 million in 2020 with 21% of the importmarket share. Cotton mill waste is imported by more than 100
countries. The top five countries, namely, Germany, Belgium,
India, USA and France imported cotton mill waste worth US$
177.5 million and accounted for 45% of the global market
share. (Fig. 66)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 64. Cotton seeds imported for sowing purposes (‘000 US$)

Figure 65. Cotton mill waste exports (‘000 US$)

31

32

Figure 66. Cotton mill waste imports (‘000 US$)

Ginning% Out-Turn

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Ginning%
Ginning outturn (percentage) is the lint proportional recovery
of lint from seed cotton after ginning expressed as percentage
by weight. Abbreviated as GOT, it ranges from 30-43.5% acrossthe globe. Higher GOT results in higher amount of lint fromseed-cotton and therefore leads to higher yields.

Fifteen countries recorded a GOT of 40 and above. The countries with high GOT are Mali, Mexico, China, Mozambique,
Burkina Faso, Brazil, Bangladesh, Australia, Malawi, Kenya,
Zimbabwe, Togo, Uganda, Chad and Ivory Coast. Some African
cotton varieties are reputed for their high ginning outturn.
(Fig. 67)
Figure-67. Ginning % (ginning outturn GOT)The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

33

Cotton varieties with >40 ginning%High ginning percent results in high fibre recovery and higher lint yields. There are several varieties across the worldthat produce seed-cotton with more than 40% fibre recovery. The table below list the names countries, names of thevarieties with >40% ginning out-turn and other fibre traits.
(Table-3a-3e).

Table 3a. Cotton varieties in Americas with Ginning Out-Turn (GOT) >40%
Country

Variety

Year released

Ginning%

Length mm

Strength g/tex

Mic

Argentina

Pora 3 INTA BGRR

2019

40

29.4

33.2

4.5

BrazilFM 975 WS

2017

41

29.3

29.96

4

Brazil

FM 906 GLT

2017

41

28.5

29.7

3.9

Brazil

TMG 42 WS

2014

42.9

30.1

30.7

4.01

Brazil

TMG 81 WS

2013

43

29

30.8

4.27

Brazil

TMG 44 B2RF

2018

43.1

30.3

31.1

3.99

BrazilFM 954 GLT

2016

43.3

31.8

30.3

4.3

Brazil

TMG 47 B2RF

2019

43.5

31.81

29.03

3.93

Brazil

TMG 81 WS

2013

45.5

29

30

4.6

BrazilDP 1536 B2RF

2013

39-41

29.58

31.5

4.4

BrazilFM 983 GLT

2016

40-41

30.2

30.9

4

Brazil

IMA 8405 GLT

2016

40-41

29.8 - 31.1

29.2 - 30.5

3.9 - 4.3

2016

BrazilFM 944 GL

40-42

30

31.8

3.9

MexicoDP 1822

43

1.18

33.2

4.7

MexicoDP 1845

44

1.21

30.5

4.5

MexicoDP 1555

44

30.2

31.2

4.5

USA

DP 1845 B3XF

40.6

30.7

30.5

4.5

USA

PHY 350 W3FE

41

30.1

30.3

5

USA

PHY 480 W3FE

41

28.8

29.7

4.4

USA

DP 1948 B3XF

41.4

30.9

33.3

3.8

USA

ST 5707 B2XF

41.7

30.2

29

4.5

USA

PHY 444 WRF

42

32.5

31

3.9

USA

DP 1518 B2XF

42

29.8

28.2

4.5

USA

NG 3930 B3XF

42.4

29.8

30.2

4.3

USA

ST 5600 B2XF

42.9

29.5

30.3

4.5

USA

DP 1646 B2XF

43

31

30.3

4.2

USA

DP 1840 B3XF

43.3

30

30.2

4

USA

PHY 400 W3FE

44

29.7

31.4

4.2

USA

DP 1820 B3XF

44

30.6

31.9

4.6

USA

DP 1725 B2XF

45

29.3

30.4

4.9

Ginning%

Length mm

Strength g/tex

Mic

41

31.2

31

4.3

41

33

32.6

4.2

42

30.5

30

4.4

Table 3b. Cotton varieties in Australia with Ginning Out-Turn (GOT) >40%
Country

Variety

Australia

Sicot 812RRF

Year released

Australia

Siokra 250

Australia

Sicot 714B3F

Australia

Sicot 707B3F

42

30.2

30

4.6

Australia

Sicot 754B3F

43

31.5

31

4.5

Australia

Sicot 606B3F*

43

30.2

31.9

4

Australia

Sicot 711RRF

43

30.2

30

4.4

Australia

Sicot 748B3F

2016

44

31.2

31

4.5

Australia

Sicot 746B3F

2016

45

30.7

30

4.5

Australia

Sicot 620

45

32

31.1

4.1

2016

34

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Table 3c. Cotton varieties in Asia with Ginning Out-Turn (GOT) >40%
Country

Variety

Year released

Ginning%

Length mm

Strength g/tex

Mic

Bangladesh

CB-12

2010

40

29

30.5

4

Bangladesh

CB-15

2016

40.7

29.5

40

5.2

Bangladesh

CB-18

2019

41

31

84.87PSI

4.35

Bangladesh

CB-13

2013

42

29.5

29

3.8

Bangladesh

CB-16

2017

42

30.56

86.25PSI

4.4

Bangladesh

CB-17

2018

40-42

28.19

84-85PSI

4.1

Pakistan

CIM-663

-

40

31.8

27.2

4.5

Pakistan

KOONJ

2017

40

29

96

4.1

Pakistan

FH-142

2013

40.1

28.3

101.4

4.8

Pakistan

CIM-620

2016

40.2

28.9

93

4.6

Pakistan

Bt.Cyto-179

2017

40.2

28.2

107.6

4.2

Pakistan

AGC-777

2015

40.2

29.2

95.7

4.8

Pakistan

CIM-610,

2018

40.2

28.8

101.9

4.3

Pakistan

CRIS-543

2020

40.5

28.3

30.1

4.6

Pakistan

AGC-555

2013

40.7

27.8

102.8

4.7

Pakistan

CRIS-533

2017

40.7

28.8

90.5

4.5

Pakistan

MNH-886

2013

41

28.2

99.5

5

Pakistan

CRIS-613

2020

41.6

28.8

28.7

4.7

Pakistan

NS-121

2010

41.9

26.2

106

5.1

Pakistan

IUB-13

2015

42

28.8

93

4.7

Pakistan

FH-Lalazar

2015

42

28.9

98.6

4.8

Pakistan

Bt.CIM-343

-

42

32.1

27.1

4.8

Pakistan

Bt.CIM-632

2018

42.2

28.8

100.6

4.5

Pakistan

IR-3701

2010

43.6

25.9

95.6

5.7

Table 3d. Cotton varieties in Mediterranean/Europe with Ginning Out-Turn (GOT) >40%
Country

Variety

Year released

Ginning%

Length mm

Strength g/tex

Mic

Egypt

Giza 95

2015

40

29.3

36.5

4.3

Spain

DP332

2009

43

28.5

4.7

Spain

JUNCAL

2004

43.5

Turkey

Lidya

2012

40-42

32-38

4.0-4.8

Turkey

Flash

2008

40-42

31-35

4.6-4.9

TurkeyBA-119

2002

41-43

31-33

4.4-4.6

TurkeyGloria

2010

41-43

33-35

3.9-4.2

TurkeyMay 498

2015

42-43

30-32

4.6-4.8

TurkeySG-125

1999

42-43

32-34

4.3-4.8

TurkeyCarisma

2013

42-44

30-32

4.4-4.9

TurkeyBA-440

2015

42-44

31-33

4.6-4.9

TurkeyMay 468

2006

44-45

34-36

4.2-4.4

TurkeyMay 455

44-46

32-35

4.4-4.8

Turkey

Lima

44-46

32-36

4.3-4.8

TurkeyCandia

44-46

33-35

4.0-4.3

Turkey

Fiona

44-46

33-35

4.0-4.5

Turkey

Lima

44-46

32-36

4.3-4.8

TurkeyDP-332

44-46

35-39

4.3-4.8

2008

2011

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

35

Table 3e. Cotton varieties in Africa with Ginning Out-Turn (GOT) >40%
Country

Variety

Year released

Ginning%

Length mm

Strength g/tex

Mic

Benin

OKP 768

2015

40

30

31

4.2

Benin

KET 782

2015

40

30

31

4.3

Cameroon

IRMA L484

2007

41.5

29.9

30.5

3.8

Cameroon

IRMA Q302

2012

44.2

30.5

31.3

3.7

Cameroon

IRMA L457

2008

44.7

28.6

30.3

3.8

Chad

A51

1991

41.5

28.2

21.4

3.8

Chad

STAMF

1983

41.7

28.9

21.5

3.9

Chad

IRMA Q302

2019

42

30.5

29.5

3.8

Cote d'Ivoire

Y 331 C

2013

43

28

Côte d'Ivoire

SICAMA Vir 1

2018

43

28.5

Côte d'Ivoire

Y 331 BLT

2014

44

29

Côte d'Ivoire

GOUASSOU Fus 1

2018

45

29

Ethiopia

Claudia

2017

46

29.5

29.6

4.6

Mali

G 440

2004

42.7

28.2

26.8

4.3

Mali

Stam 279A

2003

43.4

28.5

26.6

4.3

Mali

NTA 90-5

1996

43.5

30.7

29

4.1

Mali

Stam 59A

1996

43.8

29.1

28.2

4.1

Mali

NTA 93-15

2004

44.9

29.9

26.9

3.8

Mozambique

Chureza

1994

40

28.60

26-28

3.5-4.0

Mozambique

ALBAR SZ 9314

1999

41.6

28.60

26-29

3.5-4.0

Mozambique

CA-324

1994

41.6

28.60

33.00

3.5-4.0

Tanzania

UKM 082008

42.3

32.385

30.2

4.03

Togo

STAM 129 A

1999-20

41

28.9

30.2

4.5

Togo

STAM 190

2017-18

43

28.9

30.5

4.1

Uganda

BPA2015A

2015

41

28 - 30

29 - 33

3.7-4.6

Uganda

SZ93141993

42

28 - 31

29 - 33

3.7-4.6

UgandaCRIMS1

1998

42

28 - 30

29 - 33

3.7-4.6

Uganda

QM301

2010

42

28 - 30

29 - 33

3.7-4.6

ZambiaChureza

1987

40.7

28.9

24.3

4.3

ZambiaCDT II

2005

42.4

29.5

24.8

4.2

Zambia

CDT V

2010

45.6

30.1

24.3

4.1

Zimbabwe

SZ 9314

1992

41

29

31.2

4.1

36

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Tillage And Planting

Plant population per hectare

Conservation tillage

Plant population is lowest in Africa, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. While row to row distance is 80 to 100cm across theworld, low plant population is mainly due to the wide spacingof plants within a row. The plant population is high at morethan 95,000 plants per hectare in Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
Colombia, China, Greece, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Turkey,
Uzbekistan and United States. Almost all the countries that
follow a high density of 8-12 plants per metre within the row
follow machine harvesting (except China). These countries
harvest 700 to 2400 Kg lint per hectare. All countries with awide spacing between plants in a row have low national average yields of less than 600 kg per hectare. (Fig. 69)

Brazil, Australia, Argentina, Cameroon and Ethiopia reported
more than 60% of the cotton acreage to be under zero tillage.
Togo, United States and Spain reported 43-45% of their cotton
area under zero tillage. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Pakistan, Mexico, Greece and Turkey reported almost complete
conventional tillage in cotton cultivation. (Fig. 68)
Figure-68. Zero Tillage

Figure-69. Plant Population

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Number of Cotton Farmers
A total number of 22.14 million farmers cultivate cotton (Table-4). Asia has the largest number of cotton farmers. India,
China and Pakistan together account for 79.3% of the global
cotton farmers; 72.3% of male farmers and 90.1% of female
farmers. Africa has 3.0 million male farmers and 0.68 million
female farmers with a global share of 22.3% male, 7.8% female
and 16.6% total farmers. Thus, Asia and Africa together account for more than 90% of the global cotton farmers. (Table 4)
Table 4. Number of cotton farmers

Country

Male

Female

Total

India

6,157,385

4,104,922

10,262,307

China

2,118,511

3,681,489

5,800,000

Pakistan

1,440,900

59,1001,500,000

Tanzania

394,021

224,393

618,414

Burkina Faso

313,625

11,375325,000

Zambia283,944

40,631

324,575

Nigeria

270,000

30,000300,000

Chad

238,944

9,100

248,044

Cameroon

220,600

29,400250,000

Zimbabwe

216,074

141,014357,088Benin

190,657

23,408214,065

Myanmar190,424

47,606238,030Sudan

180,000

20,000200,000

Mali

161,655

1,100

162,755

Togo

138,580

14,072

152,652

Turkmenistan

120,662

0120,662

Côte-d'Ivoire

117,766

2,270

120,036

Mozambique

110,776

39,689150,465

Uzbekistan

86,2606,144

92,404

Uganda73,90073,200147,100

Turkey70,201

21,00091,201

Egypt

67,12925,81992,948

Number of Public Sector Cotton
Researchers
Researchers in the public sector

Data on the number of cotton researchers in major cotton growing countries such as China, USA, Brazil, and Mexico are notavailable. In the available dataset, Pakistan, Turkey, India andEgypt have the largest number of cotton researchers. (Fig. 70)
Figure-70. Number of public sector cotton researchers

Bangladesh

53,00035,00088,000Ethiopia

48,627750

49,377

Iran

32,9510

32,951

Kazakhstan

31,745

10,00041,745Greece25,25623,02548,281

Malawi21,00014,00035,000Kenya

18,7459,293

28,038Paraguay

10,0002,000

12,000

USA

6,806

1,297

8,103

Mexico

6,676

788

7,464

Employment on Cotton Farms

Argentina

4,400

440

4,840

Spain

3,112

1,689

4,801

Employment on cotton farms

Vietnam

3,000

1,000

4,000

Brazil

2,651

612

3,263

South Africa

1,176

1,501

2,677
1,500

Australia

1,155

345

Kyrgyzstan

700

69

769

Indonesia

600

400

1,000

Colombia

496

113

609

Israel40

40

80

13,434,150

8,708,094

22,142,244

WORLD TOTAL

37

Employment of manpower is highest in developing and least
developed countries where mechanization is low. Conversely,
many developing and developed countries deploy machines formany production practices such as tillage, weeding, spraying,irrigation, fertilizer application and harvesting and employ afew persons on the farm to oversee and operate the machines.
Wages are high in most developed countries because labour
availability is scare, compared to developing and least developed countries. Therefore, mechanization was imperative indeveloped countries. USA, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Argentina,

38

Greece and Mexico employ very persons on cotton farms,
whereas India, China, Egypt, Bangladesh, Iran, Mali, Togo andKazakhstan employ more than 100 persons per hectare perseason. (Fig. 71)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 72. Cotton Fibre exports by Country(Million Tonnes & Billion US$)

Figure-71. Employment on cotton farms(man-days per hectare per season)

Figure 73. World Cotton Fibre Exports (Billion US$)

Fibre imports

Trade of Cotton Fibre, Yarn, Fabric andApparel (2020)
Fibre exports
The global cotton fibre export market was US$ 13.5 billion.
United States exported 3.8 million tonnes of cotton fibre
worth US$ 6 billion, accounting for world’s largest market
share of 44%.

The top five countries, USA, Brazil, India, Greece and Australia
together earned US$ 11.4 billion from cotton fibre exports
and accounted for 85% of the global market share. (Fig. 72
and 73)

A total of 8.1 million tonnes of cotton fibre worth US$ 12.9 billion were imported in 2020.
Five countries — China, Vietnam, Turkey, Bangladesh andPakistan — accounted for 77% of the global market share.

In volume terms, China (2.2 million tonnes) comprises thelargest market for imported cotton fibre worldwide, accounting for 27% of global imports.
The average price of imported cotton fibre varies from country to country.
Amongst the top 5 importers, Vietnam registered the lowest price (US$1.49/kg), while the China was the highest(US$1.65/kg). (Fig. 74 and 75)

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 74. Cotton Fibre imports by Country(Million Tonnes & Billion US$)

Yarn exports

39

World cotton yarn exports by volume decreased by 8% to 4.4
million tonnes in 2020. The global cotton yarn exports were
worth US$ 11.8 billion. Vietnam was the largest exporter of cotton yarn in the world, with approximately 1.1 million tonnes.
India was the second-largest exporter, followed by Uzbekistan,
Pakistan and China. Among these five countries, Pakistan received the lowest unit value (US$2.03/kg) and China received
the highest (US$3.96/kg). (Fig. 76 and 77)
Figure 76. Cotton Yarn exports by Country(Million Tonnes & Billion US$)

Figure 75. World Cotton Fibre Imports (Billion US$)

Figure 77. World Cotton Yarn exports (Billion US$)40

The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Yarn imports

Fabric exports

World cotton yarn imports by value decreased by 11% to US$
11.3 billion in 2020 — the lowest level in 11 years. China was
the largest importer of cotton yarn with 1.9 million tonnes,
valued at US$4.3 billion. Bangladesh and Turkey were thesecond- and third-largest cotton yarn importers, accounting
for 8% and 5%, respectively. These three countries accounted
for 58% of global cotton yarn imports in terms of volume.
(Fig. 78 and 79)

In value terms, cotton fabric exports (woven and knitted) stoodat US$ 27.2 billion in 2020. China remained the largest exporter of cotton fabrics accounting for 49% of global exports. The
second-largest exporter was India (7%), followed by Pakistan(6%) and Turkey (5%). These four countries accounted for approximately 68% of all cotton fabric exports in 2020. The vast
majority of cotton fabric exports were woven fabrics, accounting for 74% of the total. (Fig. 80 and 81)

Figure 79. World Cotton Yarn imports (Billion US$)

Figure 81. Cotton Fabric exports by Country (Billion US$)

Figure 78. Cotton Yarn imports by Country(Million Tonnes & Billion US$)

Figure 80. World Cotton Fabric exports (Billion US$)The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

41

Fabric imports

Apparel exports

The global import value of cotton fabrics (woven and knitted)
was approximately US$ 21.8 billion, down 14% from 2019 andthe lowest since 2001. Vietnam (US$ 3.4 billion), Bangladesh(us$ 2.7 billion), Hong Kong (US$ 0.89 billion), USA (US$ 0.86
billion) and Indonesia (US$ 0.83 billion) were the main importers of cotton fabric, accounting for approximately 40% of
the total. (Fig. 82 and 83)

In 2020, the value of the global apparel export market was US$
423 billion, a decrease of 10% from 2019 and the lowest level since 2012. Ten countries accounted for 70% of the world’s
clothing exports in value terms in 2020, namely China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, Turkey, India, Spain Netherlands. Three countries — India (-25%), Spain (-19%) and Italy(-15%) — suffered the most significant drop in total apparelexports in 2020. (Fig. 84 and 85)

Figure 83. Cotton Fabric imports by Country (Billion US$)

Figure 85. Apparel exports by Country (Billion US$)

Figure 82. World Cotton Fabric imports (Billion US$)

Figure 84. World Apparel exports (Billion US$)

42

Apparel imports
The value of world apparel imports totalled US$ 380 billion in
2020. The European Union was the top ranked global apparel
importer with a share of approximately 41% of total imports,
followed by USA (19%), Japan (6.3%), and the UK (6%). (Fig.
86 and 87)
Figure 86. World Apparel imports (Billion US$)The ICAC Recorder, June 2021

Figure 87. Apparel imports by Country (Billion US$)CONTENTS OF THE COTTON DATABOOK 2021
List of Production Data Figures
Title

Page

Figure-1a,1b

Cotton growing regions / countries of the world

8-9

Figure-2

Cotton area ‘000 hectares

11

Figure-3

Cotton lint yield kg/ha

12

Figure-4

Cotton production ‘000 tonnes

13

Figure-5

Fertiliser cost per hectare (US$)

14

Figure-6

Fertiliser cost per kg lint (US$)

15

Figure-7

Ginning cost per hectare (US$)

16

Figure-8Ginning cost (US$) per kg lint

17

Figure-9Ginning % (out turn)18

Figure-10

Insecticide cost per hectare (US$)

19

Figure-11

Pesticide cost (US$) per kg lint produced

20

Figure-12

Lint value per hectare (US$)

21

Figure-13

Machine use cost per hectare (US$)

22

Figure-14

Manpower cost per hectare (US$)

23

Figure-15

Net returns on lint per hectare (US$)

24

Figure-16

Net returns on seed-cotton per hectare (US$)

25

Figure-17

Fertiliser cost as % of cultivation cost

26

Figure-18

Ginning cost as % of cultivation cost

27

Figure-19

Machinery cost as % of cultivation cost

28

Figure-20

Manpower cost as % of cultivation cost

29

Figure-21

Pesticide cost as % of cultivation cost

30

Figure-22

Seed cost as % of cultivation cost

31

Figure-23

Pesticide cost per hectare (US$)

32

Figure-24

24a. Production cost (US$) per kg lint & 24b. Production cost US cents per lb lint

33-34

Figure-25

25a. Production cost (US$) per kg seed-cotton & 25b. US cents per lb seed-cotton

35-36

Figure-26

Seed cost per hectare (US$)

37

Figure-27

Total cost of cultivation (US$) per hectare

38

Figure-28

Weeding cost per hectare (US$)

39

Figure-29

Weeding cost (US$) per kg lint produced

40

Figure-30

Blue water (litres) used per kg lint produced

41

Figure-31

Green water (‘000 litres) used per kg lint produced

42

Figure-32

Irrigation water (billion litres) used for cotton production

43

Figure-33% rainfed area

44

Figure-34

Pesticide use active ingredients Kg/Ha

45

Figure-35

Nitrogen fertiliser use in cotton (Kg/Ha)

46

Figure-36

NPK fertiliser use in cotton (Kg/Ha)

47

Figure-37

Fuzzy seeds used for sowing (%)

48

Figure-38

Cotton Area Under Zero-Till (%)

49

Figure-39

Plant Population per Hectare

50

Figure-40

Man-days employed in cotton production per hectare per season

51

Figure-41

Cotton Seed Production '000 Metric Tonnes

52

Figure-42

Cotton-seed Oil Production '000 Metric Tonnes

53

Figure-43

Cotton-seed Crushed for Oil (%)

54

CONTENTS OF THE COTTON DATABOOK 2021
Figure-44

Cotton-Seed Meal Production (‘000 Tonnes)

55

Figure-45

Cotton area trend 1990-2020

56

Figure-46

Lint yield trend 1990-2020

57

Figure-47

Production trend 1990-2020

57

Figure-48

Fertiliser cost (US$) per kg lint produced 2001-2020

58

Figure-49

Insecticide cost (US$) per kg lint produced 2001-2020

58

Figure-50

Ginning cost (US$) per kg lint produced 2007-2020

59

Figure-51

Weeding cost (US$) per kg lint produced 2001-2020

59

Figure-52

Production cost (US$) per kg seed-cotton produced 2001-2020

60

Figure-53

Production cost (US$) per kg lint produced

60

List of Cotton Trade Data Figures
Figures-54-55

Title

Page

World Cotton Fibre Exports & Top Cotton Fibre Exporting Countries(Billion US$)

62

Figures-56-57

World Cotton Fibre Imports & Top Cotton Fibre Importing Countries (Billion US$)

63

Figures-58-59

World Cotton Yarn Exports & Top Cotton Yarn Exporting Countries (Billion US$)64

Figures-60-61

World Cotton Yarn Imports & Top Cotton Yarn Importing Countries (Billion US$)

65

Figure-62

World Cotton Textile & Apparel Exports (Billion US$)

66

Figure-63

Textile & Apparel Exports by Country (Billion US$) and Share of T&A in Total Exports 66

Figures-64-65

Top Textile Imports by Country & Top Textile Importing Countries (Billion US$)

67

Figure-66

Cotton-Linter Exports (US$)

68

Figure-67

Cotton-Linter Imports (US$)

69

Figure-68

Cotton-Seed Exports (US$)

70

Figure-69

Cotton-Seed Imports (US$)

71

Figure-70

Cotton-Sowing-Seed Exports (US$)

72

Figure-71

Cotton-Sowing-Seed Imports (US$)

73

Figure-72

Combed & Carded Cotton Exports (US$)

74

Figure-73

Combed & Carded Cotton Imports (US$)

75

Figure-74

Cotton Crude Seed Oil Exports (US$)

76

Figure-75

Cotton Crude Seed Oil Imports (US$)

77

Figure-76

Cotton Seed Oil Exports (US$)

78

Figure-77

Cotton Seed Oil Imports (US$)

79

Figure-78

Cotton Mill-Waste Exports (US$)

80

Figure-79

Cotton Mill-Waste Imports (US$)

81

List of Production Data Tables
Title

Page

Table-1

Number of farmers and farm unit area (ha)83-84

Table-2

Research and extension staff

85

Table-3

Methods of seed processing (%) for sowing

86

Table-4

Planting methods & seed source

87

Table-5

Tillage methods (%)

88

Table-6

Seed rate, spacing & plant population/ha

89-90

Table-7

Fertiliser usage in cotton

91

Table-8

Pesticide spray methods (%)

92

CONTENTS OF THE COTTON DATABOOK 2021
Table-9

Weeding & harvesting methods (%)

93

Table-10

Ginning methods

94

Table-11

Use of cotton seeds (%)

95

Table-12

Use of cotton stalk residues (%)

96

Table-13

Crop rotation with cotton

97-98

Table-14

Crops competing with cotton

99-100

Table-15

Irrigation methods & water footprint

101-104

Table-16

Rainwater (mm), etc & irrigation (mm)105-108

Table-17

Input costs per hectare

109-110

Table-18

Input costs per kg seed-cotton & per kg lint

111-112

Table-19

Cost of cultivation (ha) & production (kg)113-114

Table-20

Area, production & productivity in COVID times

115

Table-21% Change in Area, production & productivity in COVID times

116

Table-22

Imports, Exports and Consumption in COVID times

117

Table-23% Change in Imports, Exports and Consumption in COVID times

118

Table-24

Varieties across the world and their fibre traits

119-135

List of Production Data Charts
Title

Page

Chart-1

Global distribution of major insect pests

136

Chart-2

Commonly used insecticides -across the world137

Chart-3

Global distribution of major weeds

138

Chart-4

Global distribution of major diseases

139

Chart-5

Chart: Sowing & harvesting calendar & Table 21. Sowing & harvetsing calendar

140-141

Data on Countries: Cotton Production & Trade
Country

Page

Country

Page

Country

Page

Country

Page

Argentina

143

Cote d’Ivoire

243

Mali

369

Togo

473

Australia

157

Egypt

263

Mexico374

Turkey482

Bangladesh

167

Ethiopia

252

Mozambique

393

Turkmenistan

496

Benin

175

Greece271

Myanmar402

Uganda503

Brazil

181

India

283

Nigeria

409

USA

513

Burkina Faso

196

Indonesia

319

Pakistan

415

Uzbekistan

529

Cameroon

205

Iran

327

South Africa

429

Zambia

541

Chad

211

Kazakhstan

341

Spain

445

Zimbabwe

549

China

218

Kenya

351

Sudan

457

Colombia

231

Malawi362

Tanzania462

Annexures:
Title
Annexure-1

Scientific names of insects

558

Annexure-2

Scientific names of weeds

559

Annexure-3

Scientific names of pathogens

560

Annexure-4

Bale shape and size

561

Annexure-5

Global crop protection pesticide market 2017-2019

562

Annexure-6

Pesticide use (‘000 Tonnes) in agriculture in cotton growing countries563