United States: Cotton

Cotton thrives in nearly all hot or warm countries except where the land is dry. A small tree of height two or three feet with blossoms that mature into puffs of white cotton.

The annual overflowing of the Missisippi River for many years has created a rich cotton-growing nation section. Texas, the biggest cotton-growing state of all, produces about a tenth of the world's crop.

Cotton prices have leaped dramatically partly caused by flooding in China, Pakistan and Australia. The first 10 largest cotton producing countries in descending order are China, United States, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Australia, Syria and Mali.

Cotton has been cultivated and used to make fabrics for 7,000 years or more.