- Most Australian cotton farms are owned and operated by family farmers. These farmers grow other crops and often graze sheep and cattle as well
- Australian cotton farms are typically 500 to 2,000 hectares in area, highly mechanised and technologically sophisticated (Source: CRDC, 2004)
- In a non-drought year, the Australian cotton industry generates in excess of $1 billion per year in export revenue, is one of Australia’s largest rural export earners and helps underpin the viability of many rural communities
- Approximately two-thirds of Australia’s cotton is grown in NSW with the remainder produced in Queensland
- The major production area in NSW stretches south from the Macintyre River on the Queensland border and covers the Gwydir, Namoi and Macquarie valleys. In NSW cotton is also grown along the Barwon and Darling rivers in the west and the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers in the south
- In Queensland, cotton is grown mostly in the south in the Darling Downs, St George, Dirranbandi and Macintyre Valley regions. The remainder is grown near Emerald, Theodore and Biloela in Central Queensland
- In 2006/07 Australia yielded 1.3 million cotton bales (from 142,000 hectares) compared to China’s 31 million bales and the USA’s 20 million bales (Source: ICAC, 2007)
- In 2005/06 transgenic varieties of cotton made up 90 per cent of the Australian cotton crop (Source: ACIC, 2006)
- In 2006/07 Australia yielded 1,792kg/ha (7.89 cotton bales per hectare). This figure was almost two and a half times the world average (747 kg/ha). The next highest yielding countries were Brazil (1,338 kg/ha), Mexico (1,247kg/ha) and China (1,246 kg/ha) (Source: ICAC, 2007)
- Australia has an enviable reputation on the world market as a reliable supplier of high quality cotton
- The extensive system of production, harvesting and ginning provides countless jobs for mechanics, distributors of farm machinery, consultants, crop processors and other support services workers
- Industries such as banking, transportation, warehousing and merchandising also benefit from a viable Australian cotton industry
