Home>>

Platform offers comprehensive services for cotton growers

(People's Daily Online) 09:51, May 26, 2023

An unmanned tractor was planting seeds in the cotton fields spanning more than 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares) in Damiao village, Manas county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"With 2 million yuan ($283,250) of loans issued to me through the cotton growers' comprehensive service platform, I'm confident that I can grow the cotton well," said Zhou Huaiyong, owner of the cotton fields.

In 2022, a total of 5.98 million tonnes of cotton was produced nationwide, up 4.3 percent year on year. The advantages of Xinjiang's cotton industry were further consolidated.

A cotton picker is seen working in fields in Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Yuzhu)

To lower costs associated with cotton planting and relieve the pressure on cash flow, the China National Cotton Exchange affiliated to the China Co-op Group established the cotton growers' comprehensive service platform in August 2021.

The platform provides a wide range of services for cotton growers, including market information, sales data queries and lending services. 315,000 cotton growers have registered on the platform since it was launched.

The platform has built partnerships with several banks. Data from the big data center of the China National Cotton Exchange indicated that since this year, about 7,000 cotton growers have applied for loans through the platform, and more than 1.6 billion yuan in special loans have been utilized.

"This year, we will step up lending to cotton growers. By working with the cotton growers' comprehensive service platform, we can offer loans with low interest and simplify loan procedures," said Qiao Hong, a senior manager of the retail finance department of China Minsheng Bank's Urumqi branch, which is located in the capital city of the autonomous region.

"The cotton growers' comprehensive service platform aims to provide customized digital services for cotton growers and promote the application, approval and issuance of special loans online. In the future, the platform will offer more services, including matching the supply with demand of production tools and technologies, and facilitating the purchase of seed cotton," said Ding Haowu, chairman of the China National Cotton Exchange.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)

Photos

Related Stories