China's cotton still has a competitive advantage

When the cotton sowing season came, Zhang Jianzhang, a farmer from Dongwangtun, Wucheng County, Shandong Province, was very upset. The cotton price was low. The cost of planting cotton last year only earned its own wage. If the price goes down this year, it will be tens of mu of cotton. Planted a money-losing scheme. Considered for a long time, Zhang Jianzhang still planted 40 acres of cotton this year. He told reporters: "The saline-alkali land farther away from the source of water is only suitable for planting cotton. After planting cotton, the only expectation is that cotton-spinning companies will start a lot, and the market will use more cotton, which is also the hope of the villagers."

Can Zhang Jianzhang's expectations be achieved, and what are the trends in the cotton market and production and consumption? A few days ago, the reporter interviewed the cotton industry associations and cotton spinning companies.

Expand demand for quality

What is the market competitiveness of China's cotton in the current internationalization of the Chinese cotton market?

People have noticed that in recent years, cotton from outside the US, Australia and other countries, and European and American cotton textile brands have continuously flooded into China, and foreign operating agencies have used a variety of promotion methods to make domestic consumers think that the clothing produced by outer cotton is high-end, The symbol of high quality gives consumers the impression that domestic cotton is far less than cotton. “In fact, China’s cotton has its own unique advantages. The traditional hand picking method of Chinese cotton farmers does not destroy the length of the fiber and the wax layer on the surface, making cotton have good color, high grade, less impurities, less fiber, and less nep. Due to the advantage of low staple fiber content, China's cotton quality has been at an internationally high level. The person in charge of the China Cotton Association told reporters.

According to the person in charge, the average length of the upper half of China's terrestrial cotton fiber was comprehensively compared with the quality survey conducted by the Cotton Quality Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of the Ministry of Agriculture on the main cotton producing areas of China and the world-renowned USTER Bulletin. For 28 to 30 mm, the length is 82% to 85%. Over the same period, the U.S. upland cotton results are: the average length of the upper half is 27 to 28 millimeters, and the length uniformity is 78% to 82%. It can be seen that the quality of cotton in China is at a good level in the world.

In recent years, due to the increase in demand for high-quality cotton yarns and the promotion of high-quality, high-priced market mechanisms, China's cotton producing areas have been vigorously developing high-quality cotton, and Xinjiang, Shandong, and Hebei have accelerated the expansion of long-staple cotton, eco-cotton, and organic cotton. The rapid growth of high-quality cotton has become the raw material basis for cotton textile companies to upgrade their products and implement quality production.

In order to promote and promote the brand of China's cotton, the China Cotton Association applied for registration of the “China Cotton” logo. In October 2009, the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce approved the registration of the “China Cotton” trademark. At this point, a mature cotton lining is presented with the "China Cotton" sign on the green earth.

In October 2011, Beijing Cottonfield Textile Co., Ltd. and other four cotton spinning enterprises passed the application for the first time and were awarded the "China Cotton" sign permit, permitting them to use the "China Cotton" label on the certified products.

According to the person in charge of the Cotton Association, “To promote the entire industry by registering a quality trademark, the goal is to enable consumers to recognize and use high-quality cotton products in China through non-profit promotion activities, so that the cotton industry, industry, and business Efforts will be made to improve the quality of China's cotton and cotton products, expand cotton consumption, and ultimately benefit consumers, benefit farmers, benefit businesses and benefit the nation and benefit our planet.”

It is reported that in 2012, the association will begin to accept applications for the listing of 22 types of products and textile fiber companies, with a focus on recommending domestically produced high-quality lint, promoting quality and price, and rational use of resources.

Change from "big" to "strong" to be transformed

China is a major producer of cotton, and cotton exports have always been our comparative advantage. However, the impact of the international financial crisis and changes in the cotton industry have made the competitiveness of China's cotton industry a serious challenge.

According to the data released by the China Cotton Textile Industry Association, the growth rate of China's cotton textile exports in 2011 fell by 11 percentage points year-on-year. From January to March 2012, the cumulative growth rate of cotton textile exports decreased by 23 percentage points year-on-year. Negative growth. International demand has continued to slump, and China’s international market share has declined. Since the second half of 2011, India, Vietnam, Pakistan and other countries have seized our country’s market share in the United States with cheap advantages.

How to maintain and give play to our competitive advantages, from the cotton industry producing countries to the cotton industry power? The common voice of cotton textile industry associations and cotton spinning companies is: to integrate the industrial chain, adjust and optimize the structure, speed up industrial transformation, accelerate scientific and technological progress, and move from "Made in China" to "Created in China."

According to briefings, at present, China's cotton industry and textile industry are still faced with many contradictions and challenges such as a low level of mechanization, a low degree of intensification, and a low level of business management. The textile industry is still at the middle and low end of the international industrial chain. The mode of industrial development is extensive, the market competitiveness is not strong, the capacity for scientific and technological innovation is insufficient, and the efficiency of resource utilization is not high. “Transformation of development methods, from the growth of injection weight to the improvement of quality, the identification of product positioning and the improvement of core competitiveness are the key to realizing China's cotton industry and textile industry from large to strong.” Council of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives Dai Gongxing, deputy director, said.

"Although there are many problems in China's cotton industry, we believe that China's textile industry still has comparative advantages. The biggest advantage is that China has a relatively complete industrial chain and is the largest cotton producer. Our spinning, weaving, home textile, printing and dyeing Both clothing and clothing have a complete industrial chain,” said Zhu Beina, president of the China Cotton Textile Industry Association, confidently.

“The American Cotton Association said the other day that the demand for China's textile and clothing market will continue to rise.” Zhu Beina said that China is a big market with a population of more than one billion. The living standards of the people are improving, and the level of consumption is gradually increasing. With the enhancement of people's awareness of environmental protection and health, the per capita spending power of pure cotton fiber products will also gradually increase. The demand for cotton in China is still very large.

"A while ago, we and the home textile industry held a production and sales matchmaking meeting to stimulate the market and promote consumption. From the perspective of China's national textile market, we maintain stable growth and domestic demand is our main driving force," said Zhu Beina.

Finding a Positioning Brand

"Accelerating industrial upgrading, building independent brands, and taking high-quality and high-end products, there is still a lot of room for the development of cotton textiles at home and abroad." Ma Tao, general manager of Beijing Cottonfield Textiles Co., Ltd., said with deep feeling in his own 12 years of entrepreneurship.

12 years ago, Ma Tao founded Beijing Cotton Field Textile Co., Ltd. to position itself as a “world-class modern enterprise” and enter the field of international high-end cotton textiles, adopting world-class equipment and leading European and American design concepts to produce high-grade towel products and beddings , children's underwear and home wear products, build Chinese people's own domestic products.

In order to ensure that their product levels are truly world-class and market-leading, in the early days of their establishment, they cooperated with the top cotton spinning companies in Europe, making the production technology and design standards “stand on the shoulders of giants”.

In the past 12 years, they have designed and produced "No Printing Workshop" and "Cotton Field" series of high-grade towels and products series, which have been compared with international top brands in the high-end market at home and abroad. Its products account for over 50% of China's high-end towel and product market share, and are also popular in high-end markets in Europe, Japan and other countries.

According to reports, the "cotton field" towels are priced at 200 yuan, and the same grade of international top brand towel prices are 400 yuan. High-end quality and lower prices make "cotton fields" products the most popular products for consumers.

According to Ma Tao, supporting the international competitiveness of “cotton fields” products has not only its scientific and technological content and ecological and environmental protection factors, but also the selection of the best quality cotton materials at home and abroad. At present, he has established his own cotton bases in Xinjiang, Shandong, and other places. Long-staple cotton, combed cotton, and organic cotton are raw materials, and they also choose the "Sanken cotton" produced in the Sancha Valley of the United States.

"From manufacturing in China to creating in China, taking the road of technological innovation, independent branding, and developing a modern cotton industry, we are confident and capable," Ma Tao said with confidence.