Editing Cotton (section)

==International trade==
[[File:CottonYield.png|thumb|Worldwide cotton production]]

The largest producers of cotton, as of 2017, are India and China, with annual production of about {{convert|18.53|e6t|lb}} and {{convert|17.14|e6t|lb}}, respectively; most of this production is consumed by their respective textile industries. The largest exporters of raw cotton are the United States, with sales of $4.9 billion, and Africa, with sales of $2.1 billion. The total international trade is estimated to be $12 billion. Africa's share of the cotton trade has doubled since 1980. Neither area has a significant domestic textile industry, textile manufacturing having moved to developing nations in Eastern and South Asia such as India and China. In Africa, cotton is grown by numerous small holders. Dunavant Enterprises, based in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], is the leading cotton broker in Africa, with hundreds of purchasing agents. It operates [[cotton gin]]s in Uganda, Mozambique, and Zambia. In Zambia, it often offers loans for seed and expenses to the 180,000 small farmers who grow cotton for it, as well as advice on farming methods. [[Cargill]] also purchases cotton in Africa for export.

The 25,000 cotton growers in the United States are heavily [[subsidy|subsidized]] at the rate of $2 billion per year although China now provides the highest overall level of cotton sector support.<ref>[http://agritrade.cta.int/Agriculture/Commodities/Cotton/Executive-Brief-Update-2013-Cotton-sector "Executive Brief Update 2013: Cotton sector"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224045221/http://agritrade.cta.int/Agriculture/Commodities/Cotton/Executive-Brief-Update-2013-Cotton-sector |date=24 February 2014 }}. ''cta.int''.</ref> The future of these subsidies is uncertain and has led to anticipatory expansion of cotton brokers' operations in Africa. Dunavant expanded in Africa by buying out local operations. This is only possible in former British colonies and Mozambique; former French colonies continue to maintain tight monopolies, inherited from their former colonialist masters, on cotton purchases at low fixed prices.<ref>Zachary, G. Pascal (14 January 2007) [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/business/yourmoney/14duna.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FOrganizations%2FW%2FWorld%20Trade%20Organization%20&_r=0 "Out of Africa: Cotton and Cash"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625071441/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/business/yourmoney/14duna.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FOrganizations%2FW%2FWorld%20Trade%20Organization%20&_r=0 |date=25 June 2017 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

To encourage trade and organize discussion about cotton, [[World Cotton Day]] is celebrated every October 7.<ref name="Cotton-Day">{{cite web | title=World Cotton Day – Welcome to World Cotton Day | website=World Cotton Day | url=http://www.worldcottonday.com/ | access-date=2021-10-08}}</ref><ref name="Cotton-Day-WTO">{{cite web | title=Celebrating World Cotton Day: an opportunity to recognize the global importance of cotton | website=[[World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization (WTO)]] | date=2021-10-07 | url=http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/wcd2021_e.htm | access-date=2021-10-08}}</ref><ref name="Cotton-Day-Argentina">{{cite web | url=http://inta.gob.ar/sites/default/files/inta_revista_voces_y_ecos_nro_42_nota_2_algodon.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://inta.gob.ar/sites/default/files/inta_revista_voces_y_ecos_nro_42_nota_2_algodon.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | title=Día mundial de algodón: seminario de innovaciones tecnológicas y organizativas | publisher=[[SENASA Argentina]] | first1=Martín | last1=Winkler | first2=Antonela | last2=Cereijo | first3=Robertino | last3=Muchut | first4=Pablo | last4=Dileo | first5=Gonzalo | last5=Scarpin | first6=Fernando | last6=Lorenzini | first7=Roxana | last7=Roeschlin | last8=Paytas | first8=Marcelo | language=es}}</ref><ref name="Cotton-Day-India" />

Cotton is included within [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO) activities within two "complementary tracks":
*trade aspects, around multilateral negotiations aiming to address distorting subsidies and trade barriers affecting cotton; and 
*development assistance provided within the cotton production industry and its [[value chain]].<ref>World Trade Organization, [https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/cotton_e.htm Cotton], accessed 11 June 2024</ref>
An agreement on trade in cotton formed part of the ministerial declaration concluding the [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 2005]].<ref>Tsang, J., "A Modest Triumph", ''Hong Kong Industrialist'', 2006/Jan, p. 43</ref>