NEW YORK, July 21. /TASS/. NATO allies are facing an undersupply of cotton, a key component in the production of gunpowder, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

According to the newspaper, linters, or the short fibers left on cotton seeds after processing, are converted to nitrocellulose, also known as guncotton. This flammable cotton product is used in the production of gunpowder for artillery shells.

While the United States grows most of its linters domestically, it wants to increase cotton linter production, The WSJ continued. European countries have long relied on China for linters and the manufactured compound since cotton cultivation largely disappeared, The Wall Street Journal wrote. Today, European governments are looking to boost the production of nitrocellulose as they are studying potential alternatives to linters.