Australian cotton is expected to plug a gap left by a poor harvest in Texas, one of Australia's largest cotton growers and processors said on Tuesday. Namoi Cotton, which produces about 35 percent of Australia's cotton, said mills in Indonesia and Thailand had expressed concerns over the quality of current shipments from the US, the world's largest cotton exporter, stimulating demand for prompt shipment of Australian cotton.
"We are confident that the premium quality of Australian cotton will underpin demand into the 2009 season," said Namoi Cotton Chief Executive Bob Bell. Bell said Australian cotton competed on export markets with cotton grown in Texas, which produced about 6 million bales of cotton annually. Australia is the world's third-largest exporter of cotton, accounting for 17 percent of global supply.
"This year they've had upwards to 50 percent of the crop having some form of quality problem, in many cases because of a wet harvest, and it was Texas cotton that's been most competitive with Aussie cotton over the past couple of years," said Bell.