Australia: Cotton and Products Annual

After four successive years of big cotton crop production in Australia, the forecast for marketing year (MY) 2025/26 falls to 4.1 million bales, 13 percent above the previous 10-year average. This decline is mainly due to an anticipation of reduced irrigation water resources and below-average cotton prices. Currently, irrigation water storages are lower compared to the same time in the previous year, and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a likelihood of average to below-average rainfall for the coming months. Under these circumstances, exports are forecast to fall to 4.9 million bales in MY 2025/26, a drop of 600,000 bales from the MY 2024/25 estimate. This occurs despite a larger drop in production, as the first nine months of trade in the forecast year will still benefit from a bigger MY 2024/25 crop.