TL: THE AUSTRALIAN COTTON INDUSTRY SO: Greenpeace Australia - Simon Divecha (GP) DT: 1991 (?) Keywords: toxics agriculture australia australasia greenpeace gp exports problems cotton / VALUE Cotton will be Australia's 4th largest rural export earner in 1991/92 behind wool, meat and wheat. /1 This apparently makes cotton Australia's fifth major export earner overall. /5 The industry estimates that in 1991/92 the crop will be worth $940 million (Aust). Other sales (cotton seed oil and meal etc.) will lift this figure to well over $1 billion. /1 The production and costing estimates above are based on an expected record crop of two million bales of cotton this autumn (fall) (June/July 1992) and an average price of $450 a bale. Production cost (industry claim) average $300 a bale for irrigated cotton, while for dry land cotton the industry claim is $600 per bale. /1 The last is more than a little suspect as I doubt wether anyone would bother with dryland cotton on this basis. The latest government (and perhaps more accurate figures) I have for cotton production are: Amount Value 1000 ton$AU million 1987-88284.1 449.0 1988-89286.2 508.0(preliminary) 1989-90338.0 695.0(forcast) of this production, in 1989-90 about 270,000 tonnes were exported worth half a billion dollars. /2 Internationally the Australian industry is 13th in cotton production, but the worlds 5th largest exporter. They specialise in medium weight, high quality grades of cotton. /5 East Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong) accounts for most of Australian raw cotton exports, about 80%. 11% is to Europe and 4% to the old eastern block. /5 Imports of finished cotton goods balance this figure. Each year the equivalent of about 136,000 tonnes of cotton is imported. The Australian spinners only use about 27,000 tonnes of cotton (8 - 10%) of the total crop (industry figures). /1 In Australia there is only one manufacturer of Denim - Bradmill Textiles (part of Linter group (Sara Lee Corporation)). Other major spinners are Actil, Bonds, Rocklea and National Textiles. LAND The cotton growing is centred around river valleys in Northern New South Wales (NSW) and Southern Queensland (Qld). Out of this between 70 and 80% of the cotton is grown in New South Wales, the rest in Queensland. /3 In the 1989-90 season there were: 389,000 acres of irrigated cotton grown in NSW 92,000 " " " " " " " Qld 53,000 " " dryland cotton grown in NSW 22,000 " " " " " " Qld /3 that is 556,000 acres of cotton overall, or about 600 tons of cotton and $1000 per acre. Industry figures for 1990-91 are to expect 675 hectares of cotton to be grown. /1 More specifically the main growing areas in Australia are nearly all along the catchment of the Darling river system. In NSW at - Wee Waa, Narrbri, Warren, Moree, Collarenebri, Bourke, Brewarrina, Mungindi, and Trangie. In Queensland the cotton is also mainly around the Darling river's catchment, Biloela, Dalby, Goondiwindi, Dirrimbandi, St George and Theodore. Emerald also. PESTICIDES Chemicals used include: acephate, aldicarb, alphamethrin, aminotriazolw, atrazine, carbaryl, chlorfluazuron, chlorpyrifos, chlorthal dimethyl, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, demeton-S-methyl, dimethipin, dimethoate, diquat, disulfoton, diuron, DSMA, endosulfan, endothal, esfenvalerate, ethephon, fenvalerate, fluazifop, fluometuron, fluvalinate, formothion, glyophosate, haloxyfop, methomyl, monocrotophos, MSMA, omethoate, paraquat, parathion methyl, pendimethalin, permethrin, phenisopham, phorate, piperonyl butoxide, profenofos, prometryne, sethoxydim, sodium chlorate, sulprofos, thidiazuron, thiodicarb, thiometon, trifluralin, and 2,2-DPA. /4 There is plenty more information on this and uses. However the government and industry regards the amounts used as commercially confidential, in other words they do not want to tell anyone, and so at this stage there are no total amounts of pesticide used. It may be possible to get a rough estimate of this from other sources though. Pesticide resistance has been reported, insect resistance to pyrethroids was first reported in the 1983-84 season. A resistance strategy now divides the growing time into three stages, % pyrethroid resistance climbing from around the 20% mark to 70% in stage three. The resistance strategy also supposedly helps with resistance to other pesticides. /4 MAIN PRODUCERS AND MARKETERS MAJOR COTTON GROWERS Company ProductionAcres (Tonnes) Colly Farms Cotton 22,700 30,500 Auscott Ltd 20,400 30,000 National Mutual Ltd 11,400 15,000 Koramba Cotton 9,500 17,500 Darling River Cotton 6,800 10,000 Twynam Cotton 6,800 10,000 Bill Findlay 6,800 10,000 Frank Hardley 6,800 10,000 Harris Brothers 6,800 10,000 Bruce Jackson 6,800 10,000 Carrington Ltd 6,500 10,000 /1 In addition to this there is a large number of family farms averaging about 1200 acres each. /3 COTTON GROUPS AND BODIES AND MARKETERS The peak body is the Australian Cotton Foundation (ACF). Regional growers tend to be organised into cooperatives, to sell and gin their cotton. Some of the biggest are: the Namoi Growers Cooperative, Auscott Ltd, Cotton Trading Corp. Queensland Cotton Corp, Colly farms cotton Corp (growers) and Dunavant Enterprises. Some of the US companies that are involved in the Australian industry are, JG Boswell, Dunavant Family, Cargill, Weil Brothers, and Volkart. In addition the largest cotton farming operation is ultimately owned by Kerry Packer, one of the 3 main media barons in this country. ISSUES Pesticide spray drift, worker health and safety, water use and native bush and wetlands are the main issues involved. Spray Drift Spray drift is a concern for many communities and local residents groups.Most residents groups in towns that I have spoken to have reported problems. Specific areas where the issue has been very prominent are Moree (NSW) and Emerald (Queensland). The Queensland government went as far as appointing a spray drift monitor in Emerald to check on the problem - a fairly substantial move for the then terribly conservative government in that state. Moree has been the subject of a TV documentary on the problems and follow up public meetings. There are many other groups in other country centres dealing with these problems as well. Worker Health and Safety Among cotton workers the recent EIS reported that blood testing revealed significant numbers of the workers have signs of exposure to pesticides. /3 Within the Koorie (aboriginal) workers there has also been a report done on their diseases. This finds: Rashes 56% of the cotton chippers experienced problems compared to 26% of non chippers, difference statistically significant (SMR =8.4) Chippers also report being sprayed by a plane (30%) and entering wet fields (72%) Boils occur in 57% of the chippers and 18% of the non chippers. /6 Water use A major point of contention - king cotton receives the lions share of irrigation water, leaving many downstream environmental and people needs unmet or poorly supplied. Privately the government people responsible for research into blue green algae are now directly blaming the cotton industry's use of water for the blue green algae bloom last year. I think this is a rather myopic view of the problem but certainly the cotton industry is responsible in part. Bush and wetlands Many areas of wetlands have been significantly degraded by the diversion of water to cotton growing. Native bush has and is also cleared on a large scale for cotton development. --------------------- 1 The Bulletin, August 27th 1991 2 The New South Wales Cotton Industry and Environment, State Pollution Control Commission, August 1990 5 Cotton Grows Glamorous, Geoff Wormwell, Namoi Cotton Cooperative ltd., AIM November 1990 3 An environmental audit of the Cotton Industry, Arbour International, Oct 1991 4 Cotton Pesticides Guide 1990-91 - NSW Agriculture and Fisheries 6 Health problems of aboriginal cotton workers in Northwest New South Wales, May 19th 1984. _________________________________________________________________ Simon Divecha