The Australian Cotton Industrycottonaustralia.com.au/uploads/resources/CEK_Chap_1_The_Australian... · cotton per land area than the global average. Emerald Theodore ... world leaders

CHAPTER 1The Australian Cotton Industry Naturally World’s Best

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUSTRALIAN COTTON INDUSTRY

Cotton is a natural fibre grown on a plant. It’sproduced so that the fibre can be made intoproducts that consumers use every day includingjeans, t-shirts, sheets and towels. Fibre from thecotton plant is made into yarn and fabric, the seedis fed to cattle and crushed for oil and the rest of theplant can be made into mulch.

Cotton makes up just over a third of all the fibre soldglobally, and is the world’s favourite natural fibre.

Produced commercially in Australia since the 1960s,cotton has developed into one of our leading agricultural industries.

Cotton is grown under the Australian sun on about1,500 farms from Emerald in the north ofQueensland to Griffith in southern NSW. Mostcotton farms grow an average of 467 hectares ofcotton, are owned and operated by Australianfamilies and employ approximately eight staff.

Cotton is grown on some of the deepest and richestsoils in Australia that have a unique capacity forstoring water by swelling and shrinking in harmonywith the natural wetting and drying cycles of theirregions. Likewise, the agricultural community’slivelihood swells and shrinks with droughts andfloods - and Australian cotton farmers have adaptedto survive in what can be an unforgiving environmentwhen the rains don’t come.

They have learned to make more from less -producing the highest yielding, highest quality, most environmentally-friendly cotton in the world.These farming communities are working with

leading manufacturers and premium brands todifferentiate their product, placing it into the handsof consumers all over the globe.

The world wants our cotton. Although a relativelysmall producer on the world scale, Australia is theworld’s fourth largest cotton exporter, producingsustainable, high quality, low contaminant cottonsthat attract a premium on the world market.Continuous improvements in Australian cottonquality, particularly staple length and strength,means our raw product is increasingly being usedfor the production of premium quality fabric.

Over 150 regional communities from Emerald andTheodore in Central Queensland to Hillston and Hayin Southern NSW are reliant on cotton production,which underpins regional prosperity and socialinfrastructure in these communities. In a normal yearthe Australian cotton industry directly employs over10,000 Australians and supports 4,000 businessesthat rely on cotton.

Australian cotton farmers participate in a voluntaryenvironmental program called Best ManagementPractices (myBMP), which ensures cotton isproduced and manufactured with the highestenvironmental standards from the farm and beyond.Our innovative farm practices have seen water useefficiency double in the last 25 years, and Australiancotton growers deliver two to three times morecotton per land area than the global average.

Emerald

Theodore

Dalby

St George Cecil Plains

Dirranbandi Goondiwindi

Mundindi

Moree

WalgettWee Waa

NarrabriBoggabri

Gunnedah

WarrenTrangieNarromine

Bourke

Hilston

Griffith

QUEENSLAND

NEW SOUTH WALES

Clermont

Toowwomba

Leeton

VICTORIA

Hay

Menindee

Ayr

BRISBANE

SYDNEY

CANBERRA

MELBOURNE

Biloela

Condobolin

The world’s biggest producers includeChina, USA, India, Pakistan and Brazil.Australia is a relatively minor produceron the world scale but it is the fourthlargest exporter growing between twoand five million bales (227 kg per bale)each year, depending on price and theavailability of water.

In Australia cotton is grown in southern,central and north-western NSW andcentral and southern Queensland.

The major production area in NSWstretches south from the MacintyreRiver on the Queensland border andcovers the Gwydir, Namoi andMacquarie valleys. In NSW cotton isalso grown along the Barwon andDarling rivers in the west and theLachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers inthe south. In Queensland, cotton isgrown mostly in the south in the Darling Downs, St George, Dirranbandi and Macintyre Valleyregions. The remainder is grown nearEmerald, Theodore and Biloela inCentral Queensland. There are smallplantings in the Burdekin region ofQueensland and the Ord River area in Western Australia.Fact Sheet: The Australian Cotton Industry

Cotton grower from Wee Waa,Matt Norrie is one of the 1,500 family farmers that make upthe Australian Cotton Industry

WHERE ISCOTTONGROWN?Cotton is grown in around75 countries of the world,between 45 degrees Northand 32 degrees South.

TOWNS IN COTTON REGIONS

COTTON REGION

WESTERNAUSTRALIA

NORTHERNTERRITORY

NEW SOUTHWALES

QUEENSLAND

VICTORIA

SOUTHAUSTRALIA

TASMANIA

Y

The Australiancotton industryproduced a recordcrop in 2011/12, with more than583,000 hectaresplanted, producing 5.3 million bales

The 2011/12 Australiancotton crop wasestimated to be worthalmost $3 billion

20% wasdryland (relied entirelyon rainfall) andthe rest wasirrigated usinga variety ofmethods

Of this crop 66% was planted in NSW, with 34% in Queensland

The amount of cotton planted each year varies depending onthe weather, price and the availability of water. In other words,if dam storage levels are low at the beginning of the season orprices are low, growers will tend to plant less cotton.

20 YEAR HISTORY OF CROP PRODUCTION

1992

/93

1993

/94

1994

/95

1995

/96

1996

/97

1997

/98

1998

/99

1999

/00

2000

/01

2001

/02

2002

/03

2003

/04

2004

/05

2005

/06

2006

/07

2007

/08

2008

/09

2009

/10

2010

/11

2011

/12

2012

/13

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Bales (million) Hectares (’000)

Milli

on b

ales

(227

kg/

bale

)

Hectares (’000)

YIELD REFERS TO THE AMOUNT OF COTTONTHAT IS PRODUCED IN A GIVEN AREA OFLAND, AND IN AUSTRALIA IS REPORTED ASBALES PER HECTARE.While China and India may lead the world in total production of cotton, Australia producesmore than double the cotton per hectare of both these countries. In fact Australia hasproduced the world’s highest cotton yields everyyear for over 20 years. Efficiency gains meansAustralian cotton growers can now produce thesame amount of cotton on fewer hectares thanever before.

So why do some countries produce higher yieldsper hectare than others? There are a combinationof factors including:• variety selection• water availability• crop management, including nutrition and

pest control

Plant breeding has been responsible for at least50% of the yield increases seen in Australia, with 50% attributed to better watermanagement.

In Australia, irrigated cotton produces muchhigher average yields than dryland cotton. For example average yield in 2011/12 underirrigated conditions was 9.2 bales/ha comparedto 2.8 bales/ha under rain fed conditions.

EXPORT DOLLARSAustralia is the fourth largest exporter of cottonin the world (behind USA, India and Uzbekistan)and is an important export industry forAustralia’s economy.In an average production year, the Australiancotton industry generates in excess of $1 billionin export revenue, is one of Australia’s largestrural export earners and helps underpin theviability of over 100 rural communities in NSW and Queensland.

COTTON YIELDS

Highest Yields EverRecorded at “Cardale”,near Narrabri, NSW

Harvesting Cotton WithFour Metre Spacings On“Jedburgh’, Warren NSW photo by Andrea Murdoch

COTTON PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA

$

See if you can guess which is the dryland crop and which is the irrigated crop?

UNDERPINNED BY LATEST RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATIONTargeted research has proven to be the industry'smost valuable investment. Research funds areinvested in four main areas: • farming systems (soils, water, environment, pests)• value chain (ginning, processing, spinning, retail)• human capacity (attracting and retaining a strong

workforce)• biosecurity (reducing the threat of introduced

pests and diseases)

Australia also has a world-class plant breedingprogram, led by the CSIRO, to develop new strainsof cotton that are most suited to Australian, andeven regional conditions.

The cotton R&D program is funded by Australia’scotton growers who pay a compulsory levy of $2.25 per bale of cotton they produce. This ismatched by the Australian Government. Individual

cotton organisations (such as Cotton SeedDistributors and Cotton Australia) as well asindividual growers also fund and participate inresearch projects for the betterment of the wholeindustry.

There are many organisations involved in cottonR&D such as the Cotton Research andDevelopment Corporation (CRDC), the CSIRO and federal and state governmentdepartments.

This research investment has resulted in theAustralian cotton industry being recognised asworld leaders in the adoption of technology,innovation, environmental management and theproduction of premium quality cotton.

●

● CHINA 549,479,383 ● INDONESIA 95,561,145 ● THAILAND 73,254,903 ● BANGLADESH 40,871,464 ● OTHER 33,231,670 ● SOUTH KOREA 31,989,557● JAPAN 1,646,478 ● PAKISTAN 15,553,739 ● VIETNAM 11,265,494 ●● HONG KONG 6,542,649 TOTAL 879,396,482 (source: ABARES)

AUSTRALIA’S RAW COTTON EXPORTS

IN 2011 (KG)

Less than 1% of the cotton grown in Australiais spun by local spinning mills – over 99% issold and exported, largely to Asia.

China is Australia’s most important cottoncustomer, consuming approximately 70% ofthe crop. Other important markets forAustralian cotton are Indonesia, Thailand,South Korea, Japan and Bangladesh.

DESTINATIONSFORAUSTRALIANCOTTON

Fact Sheet: Research, Technology and Innovation

Case Study: Growing Cotton in Tropical Northern Australia

CSIRO

Cotton Research and Development Corporation

Cotton Australia

Cotton Seed Distributors

ABOVE ALL,COTTON FARMERSARE PEOPLE WHOLIVE AND WORKIN OVER 100LOCAL, RURALCOMMUNITIESACROSS NSW ANDQUEENSLAND.

They provide jobs, their kids go to schooland play sport in rural towns and theyshop locally for agricultural supplies andservices. Cotton growers are mostlyfamily farmers who have lived andworked in their communities forgenerations.

The average Australian cotton farm:• Is family owned and operated• Provides jobs for eight people• Grows 467 hectares of cotton• Is run by experienced farmers with an

average age of 39• Grows other crops and often grazes

sheep and cattle

An extensive system of production,harvesting and ginning providescountless jobs for mechanics, distributorsof farm machinery, consultants, crop processors and other support services. Industries such as banking,transportation, warehousing andmerchandising also benefit from a viableAustralian cotton industry.

COTTON ANDTHE COMMUNITY

Photo by Tim ChaffeyPhoto by Bernie Boland

Local cotton growerspitch in to hold back theflood, St George, QLD

Pat and Sue Kennedy,with their crop, on their farm nearCondobolin, NSWphoto by Alex Ellinghausen