World production of cotton in the early 1990s stood at 18.9 million tones annually. In the 1930s, the United States produced more than half the world's cotton; by the early 1990s this had fallen to about a sixth. The other leading producers included China, India.

The Indian cotton industry is at a very important threshold. The world has started recognizing the quality of Indian raw cotton fiber and is buying more and more fiber from India. The industry has taken rapid steps by introducing upgraded technology ginning machines, adopting BT seeds, employing better picking and ginning practices. This was lead in improvement in the areas of trash, contamination, consistency and uniformity.