European defence contractors have warned that reliance on Chinese cotton used in gunpowder for ammunition threatens their ability to expand output as western countries race to bolster Ukraine’s overstretched military.
Cotton linters, a byproduct and a primary ingredient needed to produce nitrocellulose, are used in artillery shells and other explosives.
Demand for ammunition has soared with Ukraine consuming shells at high rates in its war against Russia. But defence contractors have struggled to scale up output because of supply chain constraints of various inputs, including nitrocellulose, also known as “guncotton”.
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