** Coastal political crisis reduces 2011 cotton production forecast

According to foreign reports, due to the recent political crisis in the coastal areas, local cotton farmers have not accepted cottonseeds that are usually distributed by the government. The main cotton farmers association in the coast has reduced its cotton production forecast this year to 215,000 tons. The local ginning traders association stated that the area of ​​cotton planted along the coast in the current year was 1.3 million mu, which did not reach the previous forecast of 1.337 million mu, but the cotton output will still exceed 185,000 tons in 2009/10, which is enough to meet domestic demand. However, if the political crisis cannot be resolved quickly, the outlook for cotton production in 2011/12 may be greatly affected.