Scenes from the Old South - Scene 9

Cotton Fields

The demand for cotton has doubled since the 1980s. The main producer of cotton fibre is now China, at 24%, past the United States at 19% and India at 13%. In 2005/2006, China manufactured 7.15 million tons of textiles, more than double that of India at 3.1 million tons. The leading cotton exporter is the United States, whose production continues to increase due to government subsidies, estimated at $14 billion between 1995 and 2003. The value of cotton lint has been decreasing for sixty years, and the value of cotton has decreased by 50% in 1997-2007.