According to the Development and Reform Commission of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the State Development and Reform Commission will give greater support to the Corps' project of constructing high-quality cotton growing base by allocating CNY 200 million from the central investment budget in 2015, which is up 1/3 from last year and equals to the total in 2012 and in 2014. The investment will be mainly used for industrialization of improved cotton seed, cultivation of high-yield cotton field and mechanization of cotton picking.

It is said that the preparation work has almost finished and the Corps will transmit the first sum of CNY 161 million of central investment to 37 projects.

It is said that the preparation work has almost finished and the Corps will transmit the first batch of CNY 161 million of central investment to 37 projects.

The Corps plans to invest CNY 715 million (including CNY 500 million from central budget fund) in its high-quality cotton growing base construction program during the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015). According to its plan, CNY 70 million will be invested in the industrialization of improved cotton seed, CNY 272.5 million in the cultivation of high-yield cotton field and CNY 344 million in the mechanization of cotton picking.

According to the Corps' 12th Five-year Plan, it will keep the high-quality cotton growing area at 7.5 million mu (about 500,000 hectares), with per-mu yield reaching 173 kg and total output up to 1.3 million tons.

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps is an important high-quality cotton growing base in China. Over the past few years, its cotton-growing area is maintained at more than 9 million mu and its cotton output accounts for over 1/5 of China's total output and 1/2 of the total export. The per-unit yield of cotton is far higher than the average level at home and abroad, with more than 80% of the cotton up to grade 1 and grade 2. In 2014, the Corps grew near 10.51 million mu of cotton, with cotton output up to about 1.64 million tons, and more than 70% of the cotton are machine-picked.

Source: China Textile Leader Express