Australian cotton production may record record in the next three years

Industry executives said that the world's third largest cotton exporter - Australia's cotton production is expected to hit a record level in the next three years.

Comprehensive media January 27 news, an industry executive said Monday that the world's third largest cotton exporter - Australia's cotton production in the next three years is expected to hit a record level, despite the recent weeks of flooding caused some of the output loss.

Naomi Cotton, one of Australia's largest ginning companies, said that the industry is also bullish on prices and that the price of cotton hit a record high on Monday, boosted by increased demand from China, the world’s largest consumer of cotton.

The higher rainfall in the flooded Australian main cotton producing areas - Queensland and northern New South Wales - destroyed some of the production, but the reservoir was full, guaranteeing water for irrigated crops for the next three years.

Naomi CEO Jeremy Callachor stated in the statement: “The higher water level of the dam, together with record prices, will support strong output in 2012 and 2013, which is very good news for the Australian cotton industry because The previous three years have suffered drought."

Namoi's ginning accounts for a quarter of the country's total cotton.

Australia's 2010/11 cotton production forecast was originally up to 4.4 million bales, but due to floods, production forecasts have been reduced to less than 4 million bales (4.4 reported = 10,000 tons).

Despite this, production may still exceed the previous output of 3.52 million bales harvested in 2001/02 and will be more than twice the previous year's 1.8 million bales.

U.S. cotton prices rose to a record high on Monday, and they continued to rise for the second consecutive day. Before that, the Chinese cotton market rose. It is expected that demand from the textile industry will increase as supply tightens.

Global levels of cotton stocks are low because the decline in prices during the global economic crisis has inhibited farmers from growing cotton. At the end of 2008, cotton prices fell to the lowest level since 2001. The decrease in output and the rebound in demand have driven cotton prices to hit record highs in the last quarter of 2010 and early 2011.

The ICE benchmark cotton March rose by 3.2% on Monday to $1.619 per pound. At the height of the economic crisis at the end of 2008, cotton prices had fallen by 40 cents per pound.

Namoi**StuartBoydell said that the loss of production in New South Wales is not significant. The state accounts for about two-thirds of the country's cotton cultivation.

Boydell said: “The outlook for the cotton industry in the next three years will be good because (irrigation) dams are full and there is a shortage of high-quality cotton worldwide.”

"Chinese cotton mills are paying a record high price, and I guess some speculators will be in."

Boydell said that Australia's cotton production in 2010/11 will still be close to 4 million tons, because in addition to irrigating cotton, farmers also plant large amounts of dryland cotton.

The cultivation of high-quality cotton varieties also boosted production. These varieties increased the yield of irrigated cotton from about 6 bales per hectare a decade ago to about 10 bales.