Australia: Cotton Production Dries Up
25 May 2007 The 2007/08 production total for the country is now forecast to be 700,000 bales, the lowest total since the 1983/84 season. Even though rains are expected, the irrigation supply has been sapped. ABARE recently published water storage data showing current water storages at historically low levels. In the state of Queensland, which produces over one third of Australia’s cotton, dam levels range from 25% capacity down to 4% capacity. In New South Wales, which produces the remainder of Australia’s cotton, dam levels range from 25% to just 3%.
Like farmers in other countries, Australia’s growers are faced with difficult crop decisions. On top of the low water levels reducing cotton plantings, many growers are considering shifting portions of their land to grain, with the strong international prices for grains starkly opposite the weak prices for cotton.
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