China's cotton yield dropped 2.2 percent year-on-year to 6.16 million tons in 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

Cotton field depletion has led to a fall in the yield, said Song Yuezheng, a senior NBS official.

Nationwide, cotton-growing land declined 2.9 percent in 2014 from the previous year to 63.29 million mu (4.2 million hectares), according to the NBS.

The relatively low profitability of cotton and the government's abolishment of its temporary purchasing policy to prop up prices are to blame for the depletion of arable cotton growing areas, said Lian Weiliang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

China will remain a big consumer of cotton due to its large population, growing expendable income and increasing export demands, the shrinking growing area will result in a big supply gap in the cotton market, he said.