Australia: Drought Continues, Cotton At 20-Year Low
5 December 2006 Australia’s widespread drought woes continue, forcing cotton production to a 20-year low in the country. Cotton plantings fell victim to major cuts in irrigation water allocations and dwindling water reserves, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS). Planted area and cotton production in 2006/07 is likely to remain at historically low levels.
In the past year, conditions deteriorated from drier-than-average to full-blown drought. Spring rains, which are critical for planting summer crops such as cotton, have not materialized, and various parts of Australia have experienced above average temperatures. The opportunity for effective spring rainfall has now passed. Some districts have suffered their lowest rainfall period on record, and many others are at levels in the lowest 5% historically.
Even if normal weather patterns resume, it is unlikely to provide the relief necessary to achieve a return to normal production. The moisture deficit created by drought conditions from June to October will constrain agricultural production over the next year.
Australian cotton production in 2006/07 is forecast at 290,000 metric tons (MT), down sharply from the 600,000 MT produced last year (just under 1.3 million bales).
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