The impacts of colour discounts to the Australian Cotton ...nuffield.com.au/content/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Final.Matt... · The impacts of colour discounts to the Australian Cotton

The impacts of colour discounts to the Australian Cotton Industry

Presentation by

Matt McVeigh

2015 Nuffield Scholar

Special thanks to Investors

Family farming business•Dalby, Qld. Darling Downs

•6,000Ha of Irrigated and Dryland farming. Owned, leased and share

•Cotton, Sorghum, Mung Beans

•Chickpeas, Wheat, Barley

Many thanks to

• Parents Neil and Sonya

• Brothers Craig and Lachlan

• Fiancé Allyse

• Team at home on the farm

• India GFP group

• All of the businesses and people that allowed me to visit

My Nuffield journeyUSAChinaBrazilVietnamTurkey

Australian Cotton Industry

My Study focus• Colour downgrades to Australian Cotton fibre and the

large discounts associated

• How can we minimise this loss of income or is it fair for the growers.

511 511 511

470

480

430

LENGTH STRENGTH COLOUR

Comparison of three discount values

Base price Discount price

Potential losses for Colour

•Average farm size= 495Ha

•Losses per bale= $75/Bale

•Average irrigated yield= 11.5B/Ha

•Losses per Ha= $862/Ha

•Losses over that farm= $426,690!

Major issues

•Decreased income for growers

•Poor processing capability

•Negative impact on the reputation and the future

Visited spinning mills, fibre expo’s warehouses, textile and apparel

manufactures

Spinning Mill in Vietnam

Water resistant cotton in China

Cotton gins, farms, universities and research groups.

Arizona,UScotton

Port in Shanghai

Guangzhou, China

“Guest appearance”

Brazil- Fast improvement in quality

• Large farms 200-300,000 Ha’s of Arable land.

• Excellent management and quality control.

• No harvest rain and low moisture issues

Cotton picking at Van Guarda

Busato cotton gin

BOM Futuro visit

China• Portable sampling technology

• Esquel

• Vigoss

• Spinexpo, Shanghai

Denim factory in Guangzhou, China

Spinexpo in Shanghai.

Vigoss Denim factory, Guangzhou

USA• Cotton Incorporated

• North and South Carolina and Arkansas, weather issues. Discounts weren’t large.

• Lubbock, Texas. Centre of the cotton world.

• Arizona. Similiar quality to Australia.

Roller ginning in Arizona

Cotton Incorporated, Raleigh NC

Turkey and Vietnam

• Turkish towels. Can Australia manufacture something similar?

• New users & still using low quality and cheap cotton.

• New mills are being built to use higher quality cotton.

Spinning mill in Vietnam

Turkish towels

What did I learn?• Colour didn’t appear to be the biggest problem although discounts don’t

reflect this.

• Fibre improvement is needed

• Parts of the world are improving more rapidly than Australia

• Reduced length and strength are problems mills are worried about in weathered cotton

• Old classing base from 1909

Perhaps it’s time to update?

New technology on the horizon

• Thermal defoliation.

• Vacuum cotton picking.

• Harvest of closed bolls to avoid weathering.

• Biodegradable water repellents.

Technology being used now

Management advice

• Control cotton seed moisture below 11%.

• Inspect premium and discount values before marketing cotton

• Sample cotton with Miniature gin.

• Stage modules according to their moisture levels

• If weather is concerning consider colour downgrade insurance

• Consider changing row spacing to suit water availability to limit plant stress and provide more light and wind to weathered fibre.

Our adoption• More attention to cotton seed moisture and use of moisture meters

• Ginning cotton samples before picking and communicating to the gin

• Colour downgrade insurance research

• Trying to develop a simple hand held colour meter and scale to match.

• Have changed our row spacing to benefit overall quality and provide more light and wind to the fibre

My industry vision 2025

• Long staple, high valued upland cotton grown and a premium market will be available.

• Large discounts from mild weathering can be minimised.

• Competition from synthetic fibres plateu and cotton demand will remain stable.

• New technology becoming more accessible to help with production and lower costs.

• Colour grading scale changed to a stepped system and a better representation of Australian white cotton

Recommendations• Revision of current discount values and grading system

• Greater discussion between growers, merchants and spinning mills and their requirements

• Sampling equipment that can be mobile and affordable

• Research into new defoliation chemicals to act similar to thermal defoliation

• Growers need to be focusing on quality along with yield.

• A product that could be local to Australia and made from the downgraded cotton

Thank you

[email protected]

0427 577 879