In January, the Xinjiang Development and Reform Commission conducted a special survey of 456 surveyed households in 12 regions (prefectures and cities) and 32 surveyed counties across Xinjiang on their planting intentions in 2021. The survey results showed that: the cultivation of food crops, cotton and other crops planted area increased compared with the previous year, and the planted area of oil crops, sugar crops, vegetables, and fruits decreased compared with the previous year.

In 2021, the per-household arable land area will increase by 0.38 mu compared with the previous year; the planted area is expected to increase by 0.54 mu compared with the actual planted area of the previous year. In terms of proportions, grain crops and cotton are still the main crops in Xinjiang. Among them, grain crops account for 41.29 percent of the estimated planted area per household, cotton 45.59 percent, oil crops 4.22 percent, sugar crops 2.13 percent, vegetables, fruits accounted for 3.79 percent, and other crops accounted for 2.98 percent. From a structural point of view, affected by planting benefits, the planted area of major crops in Xinjiang showed a trend of “increasing grain and cotton, and decreasing oil crops and vegetables”. In 2021, the average planted area of cotton per household is expected to increase by 1.45 percent over the previous year.