Cotton optimism in Australia
With planting of a new cotton crop under way now in Australia, industry body Cotton Australia has said the signs for the 2024-2025 season are positive.
The range of geographic areas producing cotton is extensive now, and planting dates are widespread.
Growers in the Central Highlands of Queensland, for example, can plant as early as August and some growers there are already seeing healthy plants emerge from the soil. Growers in more tropical climates, such as in the northern part of the Northern Territory, tend to wait until December or January to plant, taking advantage of the wet season, which is from October-April.
In total, Australia has 1,500 cotton growers, most of whom are family farmers. Cotton Australia has said it expects them to produce 4.4 million bales, or 1 million tonnes of high-quality cotton fibre for export markets this season, and a similar volume of seed cotton.
Cotton Australia said it expects this crop to generate more than AUS$3 billion for the economy, adding that most of this money will “filter down” into the almost 250 communities that benefit directly from cotton growing.
