Total 2007/08 cotton output in the Aksu region of Xinjiang Province reached a new official record of 401,300 tons -- Aksu is located in the northwestern corner of the cotton belt that borders the Tarim Pendi Desert. Official acreage was estimated at 224,000 hectares, which was 32,666 hectares above the 2006 official acreage. ELS acreage accounted for 65,333 hectares.

Average yield was estimated at 1,791 kilograms per hectare, an 81-kilogram increase from 2006, while total output was up 58,600 tons from the official 2006 estimate. 280,000 tons had been procured as of December 31, 2007, with ELS procurement accounting for 65,000 tons of this total. Total ginnings have reached 180,000 tons as of the same date.