Cotton bale
A cotton bale is a standard-sized and weighted pack of compressed cotton lint after ginning. The dimensions and weight may vary with different cotton-producing countries.
Significance
A bale has an essential role from the farm to the factory. The cotton yield is calculated in terms of the number of bales. Bale is a standard packaging method for cotton to avoid various hassles in handling, packing, and transportation. The bales also protect the lint from foreign contamination and make them readily identifiable.Cotton bale management system
Bale management encompasses the systematic procedures of categorizing, blending, and assessing bales based on fiber attributes, with the aim of achieving desired quality yarn production at an optimized cost.Cotton fibres differ in terms of staple length and other physical characteristics; this is an inherent feature. Bale management, also known as "bale mixing," is the process of analysing, classifying, and then blending fibres from various bales according to their fibre properties in order to create yarn of a specific quality at the most affordable price.
Standards
Bale
A "bale of cotton" is also the standard trading unit for cotton on the wholesale national and international markets. Although different cotton-growing countries have their bale standards, for example, In the United States, cotton is usually measured at approximately and weighs. In India, the standard bale size is 170 kg.Parameters
The most important parameters of a cotton bale are:- Density
- Measurements of the bales
- Weight
| Sr.No. | Country | Bale in kg |
| 1 | Australia | 227 |
| 2 | Colombia | 233 |
| 3 | Egypt | 327 |
| 4 | India | 170 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 170 |
| 6 | Mexico | 230 |
| 7 | Nigeria | 185 |
| 8 | South Africa | 200 |
| 9 | Sudan | 191 |
| 10 | Tanzania | 181 |
| 11 | Uganda | 181 |
| 12 | United States of America | 225 |
Advances in standardization are reducing the variation in weights, sizes, dimensions, and densities of cotton bales.