Australia to See Big Jump in Cotton Production; Locusts to Have Minimal Impact

Good weather and rising prices have Australian growers ready to plant cotton for the upcoming season, which should allow the country to increase its acreage by more than 50,000 hectares. Lint prices could reach the highest levels they’ve seen since the mid-1990s, and with rainfall expected to be plentiful, optimism abounds throughout the Australian cotton industry.

Although the country is facing what could be its worst plague of locusts in decades, there is little fear that the insects will do any significant damage to cotton crops. The cotton planting season will begin in October, and although seedlings can be vulnerable to damage from pests, only 5 percent to 10 percent of cotton crops are expected to be planted in areas where the locusts will be plentiful. In addition, cotton is not among their preferred food sources, so the damage they do is minimal compared with many other agricultural crops.

Some projections expect Australia’s total acreage to reach its highest level in more than five years, with a total of 340,000 hectares planted. More than two thirds of the crop will be irrigated, with the remaining 100,000 hectares consisting of dryland cotton.