Australia seen headed for another bumper crop next year

Australia could harvest another bumper cotton crop next year, possibly matching this year's estimated harvest of a record 4 million bales, an industry official said on Thursday, noting that growing conditions remained ideal.
Australia, one of the world's major cotton exporters, is hoping to cash in on high global cotton prices driven by strong demand from China and India, which together consume around 60 percent of world output. "We have very good conditions for the crop for next season because we have good water supply," said David Bone, spokesman for Cotton Australia.
"Our water storages are full so that's a good indication that we'll be able to have a replication of (the 2010/11 crop) and we don't see any downward price pressure." Cotton was the top performing commodity in 2010, a feat it repeated in the first three months of 2011. US cotton futures hit a record $2.197 a pound in early March on tight global supply and concerns that plantings in the United States could be reduced further if a drought in Texas worsened.
"We expect that there'll be continued sustainability of the current price for cotton and those factors contribute to seeing another bumper crop next year," Bone said, but added it was too early to quantify next season's Australian crop. Cotton Australia last month predicted the country's 2010/11 crop to hit a record 4.056 million bales as growers managed to salvage more than expected from devastating summer floods across the nation's eastern states.
That would be more than double the previous year's harvest of 1.8 million bales. Australia ships nearly all of its cotton output, mostly to Asian markets, led by China, India, Thailand and Vietnam. Yields in flood-hit cotton growing areas had suffered some declines, Bone said, but added that those areas that were spared "have had an exceptional season". "The biggest risk we have at the moment is hail. The cotton crop is most vulnerable to hail damage in the final stages just before the harvest so we're hoping the clear skies and dry conditions will continue," said Bone.