Farmers’ shift to more profitable crops such as corn, sweet potatoes and soybeans will result in 56% fall in cotton production this year in Vietnam.

As per the report, in the cotton year ending on July 31, cotton production is expected to decline by 2,570 tonnes from 5,880 tonnes a year earlier, since the area under cultivation decreased to 5,210 hectares from 12,500 hectares.

The report also said that the cotton output will rise to 2,960 tonnes in the next cotton year. The worldwide economic slowdown left its marks on the demand from the garment and textile industry, which will result in the fall of imports in current crop year probably by 8.1% to 230,000 tonnes from 250,150 tonnes in the previous year. The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (VINATEX) intend to invest VND3.5 trillion to expand the cotton planning area in three Central Highland provinces.