Cotton production halved
Drought bites into season’s plantings
DROUGHT, high temporary water prices and low allocations have savaged Australia’s cotton and rice plantings.
Cotton production is expected to be down by about half while the area planted to the crop in southern NSW – Australia’s biggest cotton-growing region last year – has dropped by a third.
Southern Valley Cotton Growers chairman John Durham said plantings in the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray valleys were back significantly on the record 90,000ha grown in 2017-18.
“This year they are talking about 59,000ha,” said Mr Durham. “It’s purely a water issue, commodity prices are excellent.”
Carrathool NSW grower Peter Tuohey said there was good money to be made from cotton this season, as long as prices for river water didn’t exceed $380 a megalitre and bore water didn’t top $220 a megalitre.
Mr Tuohey, who has bucked the trend and increased his cotton plantings to 2000ha this season, said the most
❝Last year we had around a 4.5 million bale crop. At the moment we’re thinking 2.2 million. — Adam Kay
recent water he’d bought was for $380-$400 a megalitre, but he had heard of “a couple of ridiculous sales more recently that I’m trying not to read much into”.
Water prices across the Goulburn Murray system are hovering at about $405 a megalitre, while in the Murrumbidgee prices were pushing upwards of $420 a megalitre.
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay said a vast portion of crops had been sown.
“Our crop size looks like being about half what it was last season. Last year we had around a 4.5 million bale crop. At the moment we’re thinking 2.2 million bales is on the cards.”
Mr Kay said while cotton plantings would be down this season, those who did successfully grow a crop could expect to be rewarded with high bale prices of more than $600.
Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia president Jeremy Morton said the sector was feeling the effects of tight water allocations, high temporary water prices and dry conditions.
Last year about 78,000ha of rice was grown in southern NSW, but this year’s crop was expected to be much lower.
“There are still a few people growing rice, but it’s tough given allocations are zero in the Murray (system) and 7 per cent in the Murrumbidgee,” Mr Morton said.
He added that when it came to the temporary water market, “at current prices I don’t know that any summer crops are going to be profitable”.