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Studies of Economies in Transformation No. 19. Provides comprehensive data for evaluating market reforms in the states of the former Soviet Union. This is the fourth annual compilation of statistical data on the rapidly evolving economies of the former Soviet Union (FSU). It is an indispensable reference, providing even more comprehensive data than the 1994 handbook for evaluating market reforms in the FSU. It converts economic data used by socialist systems to the market-based system of national accounts and incorporates new national currencies in the data. The volume contains both English and Russian versions of the text. Decisionmakers have easy access to key statistics on the 15 independent states through the handbook's comparative tables, which provide cross-country data arranged by subject. Topics include production rates, human resources, and external trade. Country tables give detailed information on essential statistical indicators such as public finance, monetary statistics, employment, and labor. Technical notes and a detailed annex give helpful background information on the statistics. A complete bibliography is provided.

Provides a comprehensive overview of the role of cotton in the economy and cotton production around the world This book offers a complete look at the world’s largest fiber crop: cotton. It examines its effect on the global economy—its uses and products, harvesting and processing, as well as the major challenges and their solutions, recent trends, and modern technologies involved in worldwide production of cotton. Cotton Production presents recent developments achieved by major cotton producing regions around the world, including China, India, USA, Pakistan, Turkey and Europe, South America, Central Asia, and Australia. In addition to origin and history, it discusses the recent advances in management practices, as well as the agronomic challenges and the solutions in the major cotton producing areas of the world. Keeping a focus on global context, the book provides sufficient details regarding the management of cotton crops. These details are not limited to the choice of cultivar, soil management, fertilizer and water management, pest control, cotton harvesting, and processing. The first book to cover all aspects of cotton production in a global context Details the role of cotton in the economy, the uses and products of cotton, and its harvesting and processing Discusses the current state of cotton management practices and issues within and around the world’s cotton producing areas Provides insight into the ways to improve cotton productivity in order to keep pace with the growing needs of an increasing population Cotton Production is an essential book for students taking courses in agronomy and cropping systems as well as a reference for agricultural advisors, extension specialists, and professionals throughout the industry.

This report examines China's 2011-13 attempt to maintain a high level of price support for its cotton producers, analyzing the policy's motivation, its consequences to date, and the impacts of various adjustment alternatives China might pursue. With China's wages rising rapidly in recent years, cotton production costs there have been rising faster than in the rest of the world. Rising costs both helped motivate China's policymakers to strengthen their price support for cotton production in 2011 and ensured that the policy ultimately proved unsustainable. After several years of sharply lower cotton consumption and sharply rising state-owned stockpiles of cotton, China in 2014 began switching producer support to direct subsidies, and focusing support on producers in the largest producing region, Xinjiang. Additional reforms include plans to restore market forces to a leading role in determining China's cotton prices. But China's large role in world cotton markets and the unprecedented size of the Government's stocks mean that difficult choices lie ahead for China's policymakers. Policy decisions in China will continue to have a significant impact on the rest of the world, and lower Chinese import quotas for cotton could reduce world cotton prices significantly.

FAO regularly undertakes projections of production, demand and trade for all major agricultural commodities and for practically all countries in the world, as a basis for medium-term commodity policy analysis and for assessing future food security problems. These projections are an important input for FAO's commodity outlook work in general, for global perspective studies and as background for policy consultations on individual commodities. Outside FAO, the projections are used by national planning agencies, international research institutions, project missions and other organizations and enterprises requiring a world frame of reference for strategies in national agricultural commodity policy and investments.