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).
Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of raw cotton with more than 90 per cent of production exported, mainly to Asian spinning mill customers. China, Indonesia and Thailand are the main buyers followed by South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan and Italy.
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.
In the first four months this year, China imported 12,706 tons of cotton from Australia, down 68.4 percent on a yearly basis. China was the top destination for Australian cotton from September 2020 to March 2021, accounting at 36.5 percent of its total cotton exports.
In Australia, 2021 pricing sits above $550/bale and 2022 levels are not far behind.
More than 90% of Australia's cotton farms are owned by Aussie families, which equates to about 80% of the crop being family owned. The Australian cotton industry works together to improve.
Iron ore, gas and coal make up the bulk of Australian exports to China (more than AUD 79 billion), but Australian service industries – led by education and tourism – are a growing part of the trade relationship.
Australian wool export markets
> Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, most Australian wool was exported to China (82%), India (4%), Italy (3%) and the Czech Republic (3%).
Top trading partners (import of "Cotton") of Australia in 2021: China with a share of 35% (27 million US$) India with a share of 14% (11.1 million US$) Pakistan with a share of 13.3% (10.5 million US$)
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 the biggest supplier of energy and key minerals to Japan, reflecting Australia's position as a reliable, safe and competitive producer of raw resources. Australia provides around two-thirds of Japan's coal, and a third of Japan's LNG imports.
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.
The worth of financial assets would fall by one fifth on average, and by one quarter in Australia. An end to trade across a bamboo curtain would hit Australia, since we export more resources to China than anywhere else and we import more goods from China than anywhere else.
Australia's resource exports to China are likely to continue to grow, but at a slower rate, with natural gas to some extent supplanting coal. Other commodities, such as wool and wheat, and other minerals will probably also do well as incomes in China rise.
The latest USDA 2022 cotton cost-of-production forecast is $803.51 per acre. In October, USDA projected the season-average cotton farm price for the 2022-23 marketing year at 90 cents per pound. For example, 900 pounds per acre at 90 cents per pound equals $810 per acre.
On average, we can harvest from 2 to 4 tons (4400 to 8800 lbs.) of cotton per hectare, or 0,8 to 1,6 tons (1760 to 3527 lbs.) per acre.