Australian Cotton Industry

• Employs 10,000 Australians
• Directly supports 4,000 businesses that are reliant on cotton
• One of the most significant employers in cotton regions of NSW and Queensland
• Average of $1.5 billion to the national economy each year
• The Australian cotton industry is the most efficient in the world and successfully competes against other cotton growing nations like the USA which heavily subsidises its farmers

Average Cotton Farm

• Family owned & operated
• Medium sized, with 362 hectares of cotton
• Creates jobs for 8 people (4 full-time staff, 1 part-time staff and 3 casual staff)
• Has other agricultural enterprises, including:
• Summer crops like sorghum, sunflowers & soybean
• Winter crops supplemented by residual soil moisture from cotton crop

Water and Efficiency

• Our industry is three times more efficient than the global average
• Cotton growers have improved efficiency by 250% since the 1970s – we now produce 8 bales/hectare, as compared to 3.3 bales/hectare
• The industry is investing $17 million in R&D to improve water efficiency over the next three years through the Cotton CRC
• The industry is targeting a doubling of water use efficiency in the next 10 years

Crop Water Requirements

	Average Irrigation Requirement (megalitres per hectare)
Rice	12.3
Lucerne for hay	10
Corn	8
Asparagus	8
Watermelon	8
Tomatoes	8
Maize	7.15
Cotton	6.3
Soybeans	6
Sugar cane	5
Pasture for grazing	4

Source: ABS Water Use on Australian Farms 2005-06 and NSW Agriculture Farm Budgets 2006

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COTTON
“As the climate becomes more variable it may make sense, for example, to plant rice and cotton during the
wet years, rather than persist with permanent plantings which need water year-round”
Tim Flannery, New Scientist, 16/6/07

IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE

• Irrigation contributes approximately 50% of the total net returns to agriculture each year from just 0.5% of the farmed area in Australia

Usage % of total irrigation in Australia

Pasture for grazing	26.5%
Cotton	16.1%
Rice	11.3%
Sugar cane	10%

Source: ABS Water Use on Australian Farms 2005-06

SEVERE IMPACT OF DROUGHT

• Despite recent widespread rain and flooding in some cotton areas, this year’s crop (2007-08) will be the smallest in 30 years
• Some cotton towns, such as Bourke, have not had an average cotton crop for six years

    Impact of drought on cotton crop size (000 bales)

1
Source: ACIC

CLOTHING THE WORLD
In a normal year, Australia’s cotton growers produce enough cotton to clothe 500 million people (with a pair of jeans, shirt, socks and underwear)

COTTON - A FIBRE IN DEMAND


CASE STUDY: COTTON COMMUNITY, WEE WAA, NORTH WEST NSW
A drought impact study of businesses in Wee Waa in 2007, compared to 2001 found:

• Permanent staff numbers fell 60% between 2004 and 2007
• Casual employment fell 40%
• 2/3 of employees who lost their jobs left the region
• 60% of businesses have downsized as a result of the drought
• 95% of businesses had a 60% or greater reliance on a healthy cotton industry
• Combined Wee Waa Primary and Secondary school numbers declined by a total of 128 students (21%)