Cotton production in Australia, the world’s third-largest exporter of the crop, is expected to decline in the current season, compared to the previous 2012-13 season.



The decline in cotton output in the country is attributed to the drought in the central and northern parts of Australia, especially Queensland, which has hindered the cultivation of the crop, due to low water availability.



According to the Bureau of Meteorology data, the year 2013 was the hottest year in the country with around 65 percent of Queensland stricken by drought, as well as several parts of South Wales and Victoria.



Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot announced recently that the Government may soon bring forward a new income support package in order to assist the drought-stricken farmers in the country.



In October 2013, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), under the country’s Department of Agriculture, stated that area of plantation for cotton in Australia, in the 2013-14 harvest season, would fall by 2 percent to around 434,000 hectares, owing to the expected decline in available supplies of irrigation water.



Australia produced about 4.4 million bales weighing 227 kg each of cotton in 2012-2013 season. In 2011-12, the country harvested a record of 5.3 million bales of the crop.



Cotton planting in Australia begins in September to November, whereas cotton picking in the country normally runs from March until late May. Cotton growing takes place from November to February.