World Cotton Production

It is native to various continents; the Americas, Africa and Asia (India) and Australia. Most variety of cotton species is found in Mexico.

Historically cotton has been known both in Eurasia and the Americas for thousands of years. Cultivation as we know it spread from India to Egypt, China and South Asia. In the Americas, the fiber was used by the prehispanic cultures, Maya, Aztec and Inca.

Large scale production began in North America with the arrival of colonists to what is now the southern USA. The real rise in production came 1784 with the invention by Eli Whitney of the saw tooth cotton gin which really started the industrial era of the spinning and weaving industry, particularly in England. 

90% of today’s commercial cotton stems from Gossypium hirsutum, a plant native to Mexico and Central America. Presently the world’s production amounts to 25 million tonnes. The largest exporter is the USA, although China and India are the largest producers, but consume most of their production domestically.