The preceding table gives the quantity, value and character of the crop for each of the cotton-growing states in 1906, as reported by the Bureau of the Census.
Mexico.—Cotton is extensively grown in Mexico, and large quantities are used for home consumption. The cultivation is of very old standing. Cortes in 1519 is said to have received cotton garments as presents from the natives of Yucatan, and to have found the Mexicans using cotton extensively for clothing. From 1900 to 1905 the crop was about 100,000 bales per annum; the whole is consumed in local mills, and cotton is imported also from the United States.
Brazil.—The cotton-growing region in Brazil comprises a belt some 200 m. in width, in the north-eastern portion of the country, and a strip along the valley of the San Francisco, where a large amount of the present crop is produced. The cotton is known in commerce under the name of the place of export, e.g. Maceio, Pernambuco or Pernam, Ceãra, Rio Grande, &c. The export fluctuates greatly.
| Bales of 500 ℔. | Approx. Value. | |
| 1901 | 53,002 | £500,000 |
| 1902 | 143,963 | 1,200,000 |
| 1903 | 126,896 | 1,300,000 |
| 1904 | 59,413 | 800,000 |
| 1905 | 107,887 | 1,000,000 |
| 1906 | 142,972 | 1,500,000 |
The total production in 1906 was estimated at about 275,000 bales, but only a portion was available for export, there being an increasing consumption in Brazil itself.
Peru.—Cotton is an important crop in Peru, where it has long been cultivated. Most of the crop is grown in the irrigated coastal valleys. With more water available, the output could be considerably increased, e.g. in the Piura district. “Rough Peruvian,” the produce of one of the tree cottons, has a special use, as being rather harsh and wiry it is well adapted for mixing with wool. Egyptian cotton is also grown. The annual export is about 30,000 bales.
Cotton Production in the British West Indies: 1905-1906.[2]
| Island. | Area in Acres. | Yield = Bales of 500 ℔. | Average Price in Pence per ℔. | Value of Lint and Seed. |
| Barbados. | 2,000 | 959 | 15.2 | £33,557 |
| St Vincent. | 790 | 330 | 18.0 | 13,557 |
| Grenada (mostly Marie galante cotton). | 3,600 | 623 | 5.0 | 8,400 |
| St Kitts | 1,000 | 241 | 15.0 | 8,380 |
| Nevis | 1,700 | 240 | 13.0 | 8,364 |
| Anguilla | 1,000 | 161 | 15.0 | 5,280 |
| Antigua | 700 | 200 | 14.2 | 6,522 |
| Montserrat | 770 | 196 | 15.0 | 6,789 |
| Virgin Islands | 40 | 14 | .. | 400 |
| Jamaica | 1,500 | 123 | .. | 4,025 |
| Total | 12,900 | 3087 | .. | £95,274 |
British West Indies.—Cotton was cultivated as a minor crop in parts of the West Indies as long ago as the 17th century, and at the opening of the 18th century the islands supplied about 70% of all the cotton used in Great Britain. Greater profits obtained from sugar caused the industry to be abandoned, except in the small island of Carriacou. In 1900 the Imperial Department of Agriculture and private planters began experiments with the object of reintroducing the cultivation, owing to the decline in value of sugar. The department was actively assisted by the British Cotton Growing Association, and the results have been very successful, as was shown at an exhibition held in Manchester in 1908. A supply of seed of a high grade of Sea Island cotton was obtained from Colonel Rivers’s estate in the Sea Islands, S. Carolina, and so successful has the cultivation been that from some of the islands West Indian Sea Island cotton obtains a higher price than the corresponding grade of cotton from the Sea Islands themselves.
In 1902 the total area under cotton cultivation in the British West Indies was 500 acres. The industry made rapid progress. In 1903 it was 4000; in 1905-1906 it was 12,900; and for 1906-1907 it was 18,166 acres. The table indicates the chief cotton-producing islands, the acreage in each, yield, average value per pound and total value of the crop in 1905-1906.