Cultivation
Cotton is grown in around 70 to 80 countries around the world. It likes warm regions, which is why it is mostly found around the equator. The growing regions span the globe like a belt. The largest growing countries are India, China, the USA and Pakistan. Brazil and the African franc zone are also relevant cotton growing regions. In 2021/22, approximately 26 million tons of cotton were grown in the world.
Harvest
The period from sowing to maturity is from 175 to 225 days. The plant needs moisture at sowing and a lot of heat at the stage of maturity. The harvested cotton is stored for post-ripening and drying for about 30 days and then goes to the ginning factories (gins), where the fibers are separated from the seeds. About 35 kilograms of fiber are obtained from 100 kilograms of seed cotton.
Processing
Besides many small regions, large processing countries are China, India and Pakistan. Bangladesh and Vietnam also have a textile industry that is important for cotton. Turkey, another producer of the natural fiber, also processes larger quantities of cotton. The volume processed in the 2021/22 season is around 26 million tons.