Cotton Color Classification and 2020 Price Forecast Analysis

Cotton originated in the subtropics. Its flowers are milky white, and shortly after blooming they turn deep red and then wither, leaving behind small green capsules called cotton bolls. Below, we introduce the 2020 cotton price forecast and color classification.

1. 2019 Cotton Price Forecast

In 2020, with national reserve cotton stocks at a low level, purchase and release policies may face adjustments. Therefore, spot cotton prices are expected to fluctuate within a narrow range in the first half of 2020, or stand at 15500-16200 yuan/ton. In the second half of the year, prices have room for a significant rise, with the high point possibly reaching above 17000 yuan/ton.

2. Cotton Color Classification

1. White cotton

Cotton that matures normally and opens normally, regardless of whether the raw cotton is pure white, milky white or light yellow in color, is called white cotton. The vast majority of raw cotton used by cotton spinning mills is white cotton.

2. Yellow cotton

In the late growth stage of cotton, the bolls die after being damaged by frost, and the pigment on the boll shell dyes the fibers, making the raw cotton yellow. Yellow cotton is generally low-grade cotton, and cotton spinning mills use only a small amount of it.

3. Gray cotton

For cotton fibers grown in rainy areas, if during growth and development or after boll opening they encounter heavy rainfall, little sunshine and low temperatures, fiber maturation will be affected, and the raw cotton takes on a grayish-white appearance. This kind of raw cotton is called gray cotton. Gray cotton has low strength and poor quality, and cotton spinning mills rarely use it.

4. Colored cotton

Colored cotton refers to cotton that naturally has color. It was bred on the basis of the original colored cotton using biological techniques such as distant hybridization and genetic modification. Natural colored cotton still retains the original advantages of cotton fiber such as softness, comfort and breathability. Cotton textiles made from it can reduce a few dyeing and printing steps and processing costs, and can avoid environmental pollution to a certain extent, but the color range is limited and the color fastness is insufficient, and observation of stable inheritance is still ongoing.

Varieties currently cultivated in our country include: Stoneville cotton, Deltapine cotton, Deltapine cotton, Cobb cotton and others. Among the recently bred high-yield varieties, there is Lumian No. 1 in the north. It originated in Mexico in the Americas. It was first introduced to our country for cultivation at the end of the 19th century.