Recently Australia’s cotton industry has declared that it has virtually sold out of 2021 cotton. Cotton farmers in Australian are hopeful about the future with good demand, as buyers rise their support amidst the growing demand for apparel in the new international markets.
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said the increasing demand demonstrates that there is still robust interest in our premium cotton.
Kay added, “There is no doubt that China was a vital trading partner for us, and we hope that they will be again, but we needed to secure sales for our top-quality cotton and that’s what our merchants have done.”
Last year’s cotton production was 2.8m bales and with the help of a grant from the Federal Government under the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) Program, word is getting out.
Michael O’Rielley, Chair of the Australian Cotton Shippers Association said the efforts of all their members have paid off and this will support in selling cotton across the export markets.
O’Rielley said, “Twelve months on, I think things are looking positive. We are not without our challenges but there’s life after China – there really is.”
“We are still fielding enquiries for the 2021 crop however we are all but sold out. If we could get more bales, we would sell them because the demand is certainly there,” he told.
O’Rielley said Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh and India have all been supportive with Indonesia having the most immediate potential.
“Right now, Vietnam is our biggest export market followed by Indonesia which currently has the most upside. They are our closest neighbor, and we have short shipping times. We are a lot more competitive in terms of price, and we can land it there quickly for an industry operating in a ‘just-in-time’ environment.”
O’Rielley said Turkey re-entered the market recently purchasing volumes of Australian cotton not seen for several years while Pakistan would order more if shipping issues could be resolved.
“The pandemic has increased prices and competition for containers while shipping lines are more selective, choosing ports with easy access. Once we have secured shipping, we can land bales in Asia in two weeks compared to 8 to 12 weeks for the US and Brazil,” O’Rielley said.
Kay said Australia’s cotton is known for its sustainability and high-quality, on top of its reputation for being one the least foreign matter contaminated fibres in the world, resulting in better productivity.
“Many of our farmers have already secured contracts for their cotton on the futures market and that gives us a great start to the sales campaign for this season. We sell every bale we produce and 2022 will be no different,” Kay said.
