One of the wettest years on record in NSW has literally dampened hopes of exceeding last year's record cotton crop of 5.6 million bales.

While water availability was hoped to contribute to a bumper crop, growers in the local region have said this is not the case. 

John Elder and Karin Stark, who grow cotton near Narromine on their 2500 hectare "Waverleigh" property said the season has been disappointing. 

"We usually plant around 500 hectares of cotton as part of our cropping system. In a good year we harvest around 12 bales to the hectare. This year, due to the weather, we lost around two thirds of our yield," Ms Stark said.

"What we did manage to harvest was poor quality and will be downgraded." 

Cotton is generally sown between mid-October and mid-December and harvested around May. This year, the Waverleigh property was so waterlogged in May that harvest was only just completed in December. 

"It was a unique situation," Mr Elder said. "I have just been sowing next year's crop in one paddock while last year's crop was being harvested in the paddock next door." 

Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay said many farmers suffered extensive damage to infrastructure and winter crops, but some positive signs are emerging. 

“Our thoughts go out to all those impacted by the floods, and some will be facing a long recovery, however many other regions are reporting better than expected outcomes and we are predicting a crop of around five million bales for 2023.” 



NSW cotton harvests were badly affected by wet weather during 2022.

While acknowledging volatility may continue until economies stabilise and consumer confidence improves, Mr Kay said demand continues for quality Australian cotton, and prices may increase. 

The frustrations of the current season have seen Mr Elder and Ms Stark reconsider their cropping rotations into the future. 

"We are considering only sowing cotton once every three years, in a rotation with wheat and fallow," Mr Elder said. 

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resources Economics and Sciences (ABARES) is forecasting a 22/23 gross value of cotton production at around $3.4 billion with expectations that exports will reach a value of $5.1 billion because of prior shipping delays for the 2022 crop. 

ABARES points to softening demand for cotton lint that led to a significant decrease in world cotton prices in the second half of 2022, however further significant price downgrades are not expected.