Far North perfect to fill cotton exports
THE demand for cotton will increase during the next decade and the Far North is placed to step up the production needed to satisfy Australia’s export market.
Rabobank commodity analyst Charles Clack said that while the demand for cotton had declined during the pandemic it was expected to recover by 2022.
“Over the next decade it’s predicted there will be an average 1.1 per cent year-on-year growth,” he said.
“Because Australia is a big producer there’s potential but that will mean producing 5.3 million bales, and we suggest that demand can be met because we’ve done it before.”
Mr Clack said the target could be achieved by expanding the area occupied by cotton farms and, while the Murray-Darling Basin would be the primary location, the Far North was positioned to “provide more bales to the national balance”.
“We see huge variation in the Murray-Darling Basin – depending largely on water availability – so we need to look at new areas for expansion and development and that’s where we see the North coming in,” he said.
“The advantage is high water availability and land tends to be cheaper relative to the south, but it doesn’t come without challenges and to develop the industry there must be infrastructure to process the crop.
“Brazil is a place where tropical cotton has worked – Northern Australia and Mato Grosso are on a similar latitude – and there’s been a 70 per cent increase in acres there in the past two years.
“It’s not a perfect comparison, there are differences in elevation but it is starting to prove there’s real potential for cotton to be grown in the north.”