BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's cotton production rose to 6.164 million tonnes in 2024, a 9.7 percent increase from the previous year, with northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region leading the growth, official data showed Wednesday.

The national growth was driven by both increased planting area and improved yield efficiency. China's total cotton planting area expanded by 1.8 percent from 2023, while the yield per unit area saw a significant jump of 7.8 percent year on year, reaching 2,172 kg per hectare, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

This improvement in productivity, particularly in Xinjiang, played a crucial role in boosting the country's overall cotton output.

Xinjiang, China's largest cotton-producing region, saw a 3.3 percent increase in planting area to 2.45 million hectares. In contrast, cotton planting areas in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins decreased by 1.6 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively.