Domestic cotton prices have entered an era of low prices and the phenomenon of cotton farmers abandoning cotton has spread.

At present, it is the season for cotton seedling raising. However, affected by the fall in cotton purchase prices, the enthusiasm of cotton farmers in some major cotton producing areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has generally declined. Many cotton fields have been planted with other crops or abandoned, and trees have been planted in some fields.

In 2014, the cotton market experienced a big dive, and the purchase price of seed cotton dropped from 4 yuan to 3 yuan, and there is no sign of rebound until now. Cotton planting income dropped sharply, directly leading to cotton farmers in traditional cotton planting areas no longer planting cotton.

Xu Conghui, director of the cotton office of De 'an County Agriculture Bureau in Jiangxi Province, told reporters that cotton farmers are losing money due to high labor costs and falling cotton prices. Cotton planting area is expected to drop by at least 20,000 mu this year.

Some plots have been planted

De 'an County, Jiangxi Province, as the main cotton producing area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, has been planting cotton for more than 20 years. Due to farming technology and land solidification, farmers generally do not easily change to other crops, but this year there is a phenomenon of collective cotton throwing.

April is the spring ploughing season, the reporter returned to his hometown Jiangxi Province Jiujiang City De 'an County (De' an County). Farmers used to be busy planting cotton at this time. This year, however, things are somewhat different.

In De 'an County (De' an County) Dafan Village and other fields, the reporter saw, now farmers breed less cotton seedlings, some cotton fields have been changed to corn or rice, some land is directly abandoned, full of grass, and some plots are planted landscape saplings or fast-growing forests.

Reporters saw that in De 'an County (De' an County) Fenglin Town Dafan Village, Huangtong Village and other plots of trees, some have grown to two or three meters high, has become a grove. The Land Management Law clearly states that "the conversion of cultivated land into non-cultivated land shall be strictly controlled." Under the background of national protection of cultivated land, planting trees on cultivated land is still a sign worthy of vigilance.

However, some villagers think, this year planting cotton less, abandoned land will be more,"barren is better than planting corn or trees, do not need to manage by hand." In the busy farming season, the reporter saw that agricultural production is not the top priority that farmers care about, villagers talk most about where to work, including some middle-aged farmers in the county to do work.

"It's getting less and less profitable to grow cotton now. It's better to find a job worth more than a thousand yuan in the county than to grow cotton." Dafan village villagers Jin Qirong said, Last year the couple planted more than ten acres of cotton, Only income seven or eight thousand yuan money,"There is nothing good to plant." The reporter also confirmed the fact that farmers abandoned seeds from a number of cotton seed sales points. In De 'an County (De' an) seed sales street, Reporter investigation learned, Seed shop sales owners generally complain about seed sales decline, Seed seed sales company director Song Yan 'an said, This year's seed sales only last year's 1/3. The head of the seed sales office for agriculture also said that this year's cottonseed sales are only 20 to 30 percent of previous years.

Data from the Agriculture Bureau of De 'an County show that last year's cotton planting area was 66,000 mu, and the Cotton Office estimates that this year's cotton planting area is only about 46,000 mu, with the planting area falling directly by 20,000 mu, or 30%.

Cotton farmers abandon cotton phenomenon spread

In fact, in recent years, the prices of agricultural production materials such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides and labor costs have been rising continuously, while cotton prices, which are effectively related to farmers 'income, have stagnated, greatly affecting the enthusiasm of cotton farmers to grow cotton.

Xu Conghui explained to reporters that before 2014, the state purchased cotton at a protective price. Cotton prices were basically between 4.5 and 5 yuan, but now they have dropped to 3 yuan.

Under the influence of multiple adverse factors, farmers can only vote with their feet and give up planting cotton.

In fact, the phenomenon of cotton farmers abandoning cotton not only appears in Jiangxi, Hubei, Shandong and other cotton planting areas.

Zhuochuang information cotton analyst Sun Liwu said, Cotton from October 2010 after the centralized listing of new cotton back to the era of low prices, Year-on-year decline of 27%, This year is expected to basically hover in 13000~14000 yuan/ton, Cotton farmers seed cotton sales prices fell 25%~31% year-on-year. "Compared with grain and vegetables, the actual income of cotton farmers is too big, and the enthusiasm for cotton planting will still decline. It is estimated that the cotton planting area in China will drop to 49 - 50 million mu in 2015, down 18%-19% year-on-year."

The decline in cotton planting was also impacted by imported cotton. In 2014, China imported 2,440,700 tons of cotton, a year-on-year decrease of 1,709,700 tons. China implemented a quota system for imported cotton. Cotton within the quota was only charged a tariff of 1%, and if it exceeded, a tariff of 40% was charged.

Sun Liwu said in an interview that the price difference between domestic and foreign cotton was basically flat. Previously, it was calculated according to sliding tax. This year, only 894,000 tons of 1% quota were issued, but the price difference between 1% tariff clearance and domestic circulation cotton was about 2000 yuan/ton.

In Xu Conghui's view, the domestic cotton market price is greatly affected by imported cotton from abroad. The mechanization degree in the United States is high, while the labor cost in Africa is low. They have their own advantages. The labor cost in our country is high. If cotton sells for two yuan a catty, farmers will lose money. Enterprises operate independently. They are regulated by the market, so they are willing to use imported cotton.

Since the beginning of this year, due to the continuous rise in imported cotton prices, the country has begun to reduce cotton imports one after another. According to customs statistics, China imported 127,900 tons of cotton in March, a decrease of 31,100 tons or 19.6% from the previous month.

For cotton farmers, they are most concerned about their own income, if the income of cotton planting is not as good as rice, throwing cotton is also a helpless choice. But since rice needed irrigation, and cotton in the past had left canals and reservoirs in disrepair, they had to switch to corn and potatoes or plant trees altogether.

De 'an County (De' an County) agriculture director said, Now the autonomy of farming in the hands of the common people, County agricultural bureau can only guide, For example, guide farmers to plant corn, potato, mulberry sericulture, etc., If cotton prices are low, It is impossible to plant forever, To carry out agricultural structure adjustment.