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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Cotton Ginning Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #411419
Research Project: Improving the Production and Processing of Western and Long-Staple Cotton and Companion Crops to Enhance Quality, Value, and Sustainability

Location: Cotton Ginning Research

Title: Relative cost of ginning cotton using saw, conventional roller, and high-speed roller gins in the U.S.

Author
item ACHARYA, RAM - NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
item SAPKOTA, SUSHIL - UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
item BHANDARI, PRATIMA - UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
item Armijo, Carlos
item Whitelock, Derek

Submitted to: Journal of Agribusiness
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2024
Publication Date: 5/23/2024
Citation: Acharya, R.N., Sapkota, S., Bhandari, P., Armijo, C.B., Whitelock, D.P. 2024. Relative cost of ginning cotton using saw, conventional roller, and high-speed roller gins in the U.S. Journal of Agribusiness. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21946.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21946

Interpretive Summary: The primary objectives of this study are to examine whether the cost of ginning cotton using high-speed roller gins is comparable to saw gins and to assess the overall cotton ginning cost efficiency. We estimate stochastic cost frontiers to evaluate ginning cost efficiency using proprietary data voluntarily shared by cotton gins operating in Arizona and California. Results show that the ‘true’ random effect model that accounts for firm-level heterogeneity fits the ginning cost data better than other models and is used to estimate firm-level cost inefficiency. The study's main findings show that the average cost inefficiency for the sample gins analyzed in this study is 13.5%. Moreover, the cost of ginning using conventional roller gins and high-speed roller gins is 24.42% and 14.18% higher than saw gins, respectively, and roller ginning costs are 10% lower for high-speed roller gins than conventional roller gins.

Technical Abstract: The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether the cost of processing cotton using high-speed roller gins is comparable to saw gins. The results from a “true” random effect model estimated using proprietary data voluntarily shared by cotton gins operating in Arizona and California showed that the average cost inefficiency for the sample gins analyzed in this study was 13.5%. Moreover, the cost of ginning using conventional roller gins and high-speed roller gins was 24.42% and 14.18% higher than saw gins, respectively, and roller ginning costs were 10% lower for high-speed roller gins than conventional roller gins. [EconLit Citations: D24; O14; Q16].