Diversifying cotton exports Since Chinese trade disruptions, Australian cotton exports have diversified, with exports increasing to Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand and India.
Australia exports cotton seed to Japan (crushed and cattle feed), Korea (crushed), China (crushed) and the USA (dairy feed), depending on parity price and the value of the Australian dollar.
Australia Exports of cotton to China was US$76.86 Million during 2021, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Australia Exports of cotton to China - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on December of 2022.
Australia is a major producer and exporter of cotton, typically representing 10 to 13 percent of world exports. There are up to 1,500 cotton farmers in Australia of which 90 percent are family farms, producing 80 percent of the total crop.
This area produced more than 5 million bales, with a total forecast value of close to $3 billion. The major buyers of Australian cotton are currently China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Turkey and Thailand (source: Australian Cotton Shippers Association).
Currently, five countries make up around 75% of global cotton production, with China being the world's biggest producer. The country is responsible for over 23% of global production, with approximately 89 million cotton farmers and part-time workers.
What Does Australia Export? Australia's main export is iron ore, followed by their other most valuables exports coal, gold, and petroleum. These exports alone rake in $48.2 billion, $47 billion, $29.1 billion, and $20.3 billion, respectively.
Australia's cotton farmers lead the world in sustainable, ethical cotton production. They grow more cotton with less land and water than ever before, and use 95% less pesticides than a decade ago. And they care about keeping people safe, and treating them fairly.
Yearly Trade
During the last five reported years the exports of Australia have changed by $44.7B from $205B in 2015 to $250B in 2020. The most recent exports are led by Iron Ore ($79.6B), Coal Briquettes ($36.4B), Petroleum Gas ($26.8B), Gold ($17.7B), and Frozen Bovine Meat ($4B).
The United States was the leading exporter of cotton worldwide in 2021/2022.
India is the worlds' largest exporter of cotton yarn and has major markets in China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and South Korea.
Wee Waa is Australia's Cotton Capital and is located in the rich agricultural heartland of Lower Namoi Valley in North West New South Wales.
The top two cotton producers, India and China, contribute approximately 45-50 percent of the world's production, while the top four producers comprise 70-75 percent of global cotton production. Currently, India is the world's leading producer of cotton, surpassing China recently.
Cubbie Station, located in western Queensland, is Australia's largest cotton-producing farm and biggest irrigation property.
– Because Australian Cotton is grown with pesticides and toxic chemicals, and then further processed with more chemicals. – Because Australian Cotton uses vast amounts of water to irrigate the crops – Certified Organic Cotton can only be grown in areas that can utilize natural rain water which does not need irrigation.
Nigel Austin is the founder and majority owner of the Cotton On clothing and stationery group. Its brands include Cotton On, Supre, Factorie and Typo.
Supima (which stands for Superior pima) is the crème de la crème of all cottons. Supima cotton is very rare- In fact, less than 1% of the cotton grown in the world is Supima cotton.
The main products that Australia exported to Russia were Aluminium Oxide ($420M), Bovine ($43M), and Peptones ($10.6M). During the last 25 years the exports of Australia to Russia have increased at an annualized rate of 10.7%, from $45.9M in 1995 to $585M in 2020.
Egyptian cotton is acknowledged as the best quality, long staple cotton in the world. Although it historically all came from Egypt, today “Egyptian” cotton is grown worldwide.
The top cotton producing countries include China, India and the United States respectively. Within the United States, the Southern states traditionally harvest the largest quantities of cotton.
All these factors have resulted in Egyptian cotton being by far the best cotton in the world. Fabrics made of Egyptian Cotton are softer, finer and last longer than any other cotton in the world.