Based on cotton surveys in Awati, Luntai, Qiemo, Bachu, and other regions, as of mid-December, the sale/procurement of long-staple raw cotton has largely concluded. Ginning and warehousing operations have entered the mid-stage (as of December 4, cumulative public inspection of 2025/26 long-staple cotton reached 46,537 bales, equivalent to 46,537 bales of lint cotton). has largely concluded, with ginning mills progressing through mid-stage processing and warehousing (as of December 4, cumulative public inspection of 2025/26 long-staple cotton reached 46,537 bales, equivalent to approximately 10,500 metric tons of lint cotton), lagging behind short-staple cotton. On one hand, the high costs and slow sales of 2025/26 LMC have prompted cotton processing enterprises to deliberately slow down their acquisition, processing, and public inspection pace. On the other hand, a shortage of cotton pickers and farmers' reluctance to sell have also resulted in slower-than-expected delivery rates.

Feedback from farmers and ginning mills in the three major cotton-growing regions of southern Xinjiang indicates that the planting area for long-staple cotton in 2026 is expected to stabilize or rebound, driven primarily by the following factors:

First, planting long-staple cotton in the 2025/26 season offers better returns than short-staple cotton or grain crops. Several long-staple cotton enterprises in Aksu and Kashgar indicated that this year's average purchase price for long-staple seed cotton ranges from 9.80 to 10.00 yuan per kilogram, approximately 3.50 to 3.60 yuan per kilogram higher than the average purchase price for short-staple cotton. Considering the cost difference between machine-picked and hand-picked cotton is about 1.5 yuan/kg, the actual price difference for farmers delivering seed cotton is approximately 2-2.10 yuan/kg. With the yield gap between fine-staple and long-staple cotton in southern Xinjiang generally ranging from 60-100 kg this year, planting long-staple cotton offers better returns.

Second, demand for long-staple cotton from both Xinjiang-based and inland enterprises is expected to rebound from its low point in the 2025/26 season. Market feedback indicates that since mid-November, inquiries and shipments for high-count cotton yarn have steadily improved domestically. Some large-scale spinning enterprises have seen smooth production and sales (for C60S and higher-count yarns), with renewed interest in purchasing Xinjiang long-staple cotton. As major high-count yarn producers within Xinjiang gradually resume or commence operations, consumption of long-staple cotton continues to strengthen. Additionally, compared to fine-staple cotton, long-staple cotton cultivation receives a higher proportion of quality subsidies, with more attractive subsidy amounts.

As an integrated internet platform providing benchmark prices, on December 11th, the benchmark price of cotton according to SunSirs was 15018.83 RMB /ton, an increase of 0.90% compared to the beginning of the month (14885.50 RMB/ton).

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