"On June 24 and July 12, Weixian County blew up two heavy rains. The cotton soaked in the water and gave bad powder. The continuous rainy weather in early September also made this year's cotton worse." Most of the bolls are prematurely decayed, shed, or eroded.” Chen Shurong, a major cotton producer in Dishing Village, Dashiying Village, Wei County, reluctantly said, “This time in previous years was a critical period for cotton picking here, but this is the last time. With rain, at least one-third of cotton peaches have been rotted."
The county of Hebei Weixian, where Chen Shurong is located, is known as the "Southern Fujian Cotton Sea," and the cotton planting area is stable at about 800,000 mu per year. When the reporter of the “Economic Information Daily” took a light rain and found Chen Shurong’s family with 100 acres of cotton fields along the muddy road, three women were sitting under the eaves and peeled off unopened black cotton bolls; they were also stacked in the warehouse. With cotton picked from shells.
As Chen Shurong said, even rainy weather does cast a shadow on some parts of Hebei that are at the critical stage of cotton harvesting: not only has a lot of bolls been smashed, which has reduced cotton production, but also has seriously affected the quality of cotton.
According to Chen Shurong, the weight of each bolls last year was generally 6.4 grams. This year's bolls are one-third smaller. It is estimated that the best yield per mu is 400 jins. Lai’s may be only 300 jins, and last year, the per-mu yield was more than 600. jin. Because rotten peaches are more, Chen Shurong’s newly picked cotton this year, the purchaser said that “at most it can be considered as five levels”, this level of cotton is also 3.5 yuan/kg, which is equivalent to last year's Chen cotton price. It is understood that since the listing of new cotton this year, the general price of four cotton is 4.2 yuan / kg.
Wang Junjiang, a farmer, planted 22 mu of cotton. He said that nowadays, even when it rains, the bolls get into the water as soon as they pout, and when they enter the water, they smash. “My 22 acres of land, this time last year took more than 300 kilos per acre. This year’s hard work is equal to dry. However, if the price this year is still as high as last year, it may not be able to lose money.”
According to local cotton farmers, cotton acquisition points, cotton spinning companies, and cotton associations, while the cotton production and quality are affected, due to high cotton prices last year, this year's cotton farmers reluctantly sold. Many farmers are dissatisfied with the current purchase price. Farmers who did not catch up with the best purchase prices last year also hope to stand up and look forward to a slight increase this year.
Wang Jijiang calculated an account for the reporter, the cost of an acre of cotton from seed to harvest: 4 kg of cotton seed, 80 yuan; cultivated land, 25 yuan; seeding, 25 yuan; plastic film, 30 yuan; chemical fertilizer (basic fertilizer + topdressing) , 220 yuan; pouring the ground two times, 50 yuan; pesticides need to spray over ten times, a total of 200 yuan; defloration artificial 50 yuan a day, an average of 200 yuan; a total of 830 yuan. If it is to contract other farmer's land, it must add 800 yuan to the rent. Calculating the current price of 350 kg per mu and 4.2 yuan per kg, the land in the area can benefit more than 600 yuan per mu, which is far less than working outside. If it is renting someone else's land, the income and cost will remain at the same level, and even lose money.
“At this price, if it is not rushing to use the money, everyone will not sell. Last year, the maximum cotton price rose to more than 7 pounds. This year's output is not as good as last year. How can the price not be less than 5 yuan.” Wang Jijiang said.
Weixian cotton farmer Wang Huichuan contracted 170 acres of land cotton in neighboring Guangzong County. He said: "Of course my cotton production is less than 400 jin this year, but less than two consecutive rains, so the product is relatively better. If you now price 4.2 yuan / jin, I still lose money. Below 5.2 yuan / I won't sell it."
A reporter from the "Economic Information Daily" visited Weixian County and found that many cotton stations are extremely narrow. Zhou Haichen, who has been engaged in the acquisition of cotton for more than a decade, told reporters: “This year, cotton cannot be received and farmers are reluctant to sell. According to the current production and price, farmers cannot earn a few dollars in one year and they will lose money when they rent land.” Zhang Zhizhuang, manager of Baichuan Cotton Industry Co., Ltd. of Weixian County, said that last year this season, the cotton station could receive about 100,000 kilograms a day; this year, from the new cotton picking up, the average daily acquisition volume is about 30,000 kilograms.
Zhang Zhizhuang and some other cotton purchasers and processors analyzed that the reason why farmers are reluctant to sell is that, apart from the high cost of planting cotton and the relatively small profit margin of cotton farmers under current prices, it is mainly the psychological factors of the cotton roller coaster market last year. Farmers have the psychological inertia of “selling, selling, and not selling”. Last year, the highest cotton price rose to a record high of 7 yuan/kg. Some farmers still refuse to sell, and they expect to rise to 10 yuan. However, the price of 7 yuan/jin only lasted for three days and quickly fell. Many farmers' cotton was in their hands.
