500,000 acres of cotton to be grown across nation in 2022-2023FY

A total of 500,000 acres of cotton will be grown across the nation in the 2022-2023FY, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.
The cotton plantation areas will be expanded yearly to meet the local demands, for import substitution and export and to promote the incomes of farmers, the MoALI Union minister said during a meeting with departmental officials of the cotton research and technical development farm (Lunkyaw farm) in Kyaukse Township of Mandalay Region on 27 May.
The relevant departments of the ministry will cooperate with seed farmers to produce proper seeds of cotton.
The country grew between 700,000 acres and more than 800,000 acres of cotton yearly between 1995-1996 and 2010-2011. After 2011-2012, the cotton plantation rate remarkably declined and there were only 400,000 acres of cotton in 2019-2020, according to the ministry.
As it produced a kind of cotton that can resist the fruit worms, the production rate became double from 200 visses to 450 visses, but the cotton plantation of farmers shrank. The cotton is used for garments, the edible oil and oil for the industrial sector can be produced from cottonseed and the ground cotton is also useful for animal feed.
There are more than 180,000 acres of cotton plantations in the Mandalay Region and officials cooperate with seed farmers to grow cotton on more than 3,000 acres during the pre-monsoon period and over 3,000 more acres in the late monsoon period.
Myanmar needs more than 350 million viss of cotton for 54 million people to produce cotton clothing. — TWA/GNLM