China 2011 cotton area seen up

China's total cotton-growing area this year is likely to rise five percent from a year ago, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) said, revising upwards its earlier forecast of a 4.1 percent increase. Rising cotton prices since January had prompted the revision, CAAS's Cotton Research Institute said in the report published on Friday on the China Cotton Association's website.
The Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement earlier this month that China's cotton planting acreage was likely to grow by 5.4 percent from last year - the first increase after three years of declines.