The cotton industry in Australia is expected to expand from around 8,000 hectares to around 15,000 hectares. This follows the successful 2022 harvest, where some bales fetched more than $900.

Last season saw some of the highest prices for Australian cotton. As the annual monsoon fast approaches, farmers are preparing massive swathes of land for one of the world's most profitable crops. Cotton is a very high return crop. The industry as a whole produces yields of around two to seven bales of cotton per hectare, depending on location, using a mostly rain-fed system, which relies not on irrigation, but on monsoon downpours. In past years, southern growers have averaged between ten and 15 bales a hectare using an irrigation system.

Since the crop’s popularity started rising in northern Australia, cotton has had some sections of the community worried about the steady supply of water crucial to production, and how land clearing could impact the climate, sacred sites, and endangered animals.

Cotton in Australia is not seen as a massive water user. Changes in the climate are seen as working in the industry’s favour. Strong regulation is seen as the key to managing the industry sustainably. Initial indications that the industry would consist of 80 per cent rain-fed crops, and 20 per cent irrigated, have been reassessed.