Planting is underway across most of Australia’s cotton growing regions with some crops already out of the ground in warmer climates while some growers in southern regions are awaiting warmer weather before starting their 2025/26 season.
Cotton Australia general manager Michael Murray said the signs for this season are positive with Australia’s 1500 cotton growers, 90 per cent of them family farmers, expecting to generate just over 4.0 million bales or around 910,000 tonnes of quality fibre, and close to 1.1m tonnes of cotton seed.
“This year we are expecting about 393,000 green hectares to be planted, predominantly in New South Wales and Queensland with crops also being planted in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
“If expectations are accurate, we will see more than $2.7 billion generated for the national economy with most of that money filtering down into the 249 communities that benefit directly from cotton growing.”
In the Northern NSW region, unsettled and an interrupted preparation for this season due to a wet and above average rain fall this winter caused delays in ground prep, resulting in growers still busy pulling up hills and fertiliser.
Recent rainfall last month saw flooding in the Namoi system and flowing rivers in the Gwydir, seeing growers taking opportunity to capture precious water to fill dams on farm and added to many of the storages around the Namoi which are at near capacity and Gwydir Valley at 81 per cent.
Cotton hectares forecast indicated to be down from last season and many of the gins have finished or will be done in early October, and while there has been some early planting in late September, the majority will have kicked off by the second week in October.
October is the month when most growers kick-off planting cotton however with the cotton footprint spreading across Australia, particularly in the north, planting and picking dates can vary considerably due to differing conditions while in some regions picking and planting is taking place in the same month.
The global outlook for cotton is stable, and while the price is flat, demand for Australian cotton is expected to continue due to our geographic position close to the main buyers and the quality and strength of our fibre.
“We have witnessed prices of up to $1000 per bale but the latest trends show the price hovering around the $550 per bale with the price outlook suggesting a $600 per bale is possible in the next 12 months.
“We export everything we produce, and thankfully demand is still strong with recent figures from cotton marketing news service Cotton Compass revealing that in July 26% of bales exported went to China, 19% to India, 15% Vietnam and 13% both to Bangladesh and Indonesia.
“In general, our growers remain positive on this season’s crop, and while it varies from region to region many are reporting good conditions including soil profiles and moisture content. The availability of water is still an issue with some regions like the Central Highlands of Queensland having no new allocations, relying on existing supplies and the prospect of new allocations if rainfall increases dam levels.”
While it’s early, the season has started positively In the Central Highlands, where growers began planting in early August, with most already experiencing healthy plant growth, reflecting good moisture in soil profiles and warn ground temperatures.
Emerald grower Ross Burnett, said with no allocation this season but with some carryover from last season, they are hopeful of a good crop.
“We have taken a calculated risk to be planting with the limited water we have so we are somewhat hedging our bets on the spring rain and hoping that arrives earlier rather than later. If we get enough rain by November/December and achieve inflows into the dam, then things can turn around quite quickly, and any allocation will help us to grow economic yields.”
