Xinjiang's output of colored cotton makes up half of the entire global production, making the autonomous region the world's largest production base of colored cotton, according to China Colored Cotton (Group) Co Ltd.

At last week's 2007 China International Cotton Conference, Zhao Xiaolin, chairman of China Colored Cotton Group, said China's growing area of colored cotton and output of the colored fiber both saw a 20-fold increase in the past decade. At present, Xinjiang has grown colored cotton in an area of more than 130 square kilometers.

China Color Cotton Group, located in Xinjiang, is China's largest producing enterprise of colored cotton. Its output reached 8,000 tons last year, making up 95 percent of China's total production of colored cotton and half of the world's colored cotton supply.

The company has developed over 400 kinds of colored cotton products. Some experts believe the colored cotton products, which are environmentally friendly products, have become a pillar of China's textiles export.

(China Daily July 5, 2007)