THE AUSTRALIAN COTTON INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE
Australian cotton is grown by up to 1,500 farmers in more than 150 regional communities. These growers produce some of the highest quality cottons in the world using fewer natural resources than ever before. They are amongst the most efficient cotton farmers on the planet, and operate with the highest environmental and social standards. 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. It invests strongly in R&D and innovation behind and beyond the farm gate. It’s an industry that leads the way in sustainable, ethical cotton production and its people help others in cotton communities, both locally and around the world.
10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT AUSTRALIAN COTTON
- Cotton is grown in mainly NSW and Queensland by up to 1,500 mostly family farmers. There are small areas of cotton and some trial sites in Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory
- The industry produces on average around 680,000 tonnes of raw cotton fibre, worth over $1.8 billion to the national economy
- Australian farmers grow some of the highest quality cotton in the world
- Australia produces cotton yields three times the world average, with year on year improvements over decades
- Cotton farmers employ over 10,000 people per year, on farms alone
- The myBMP cotton certification standard includes over 400 standards, making it one of the most robust cotton sustainability programs in the world
- Australian cotton is a highly collaborative and transparent industry that works together to achieve positive change
- Australia is the fourth largest exporter of cotton in the world, representing around 3-5% of global production
- The industry invests around $25 million every year in research and development to optimise farming systems, find transformative technologies, ensure sustainability and create higher value uses for cotton
- Australian cotton bales are traceable from the farm to the spinning mill