Cotton

The cotton industry is labour intensive and provides work to roughly one labourer per hectare of cotton planted. The number of cotton farmers in the RSA is estimated at approximately 5 100. Primary production areas include the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and the North West Province. Temperature is of vital importance in determining areas that are suitable for the economic cultivation of cotton. Generally, temperatures below 20°C have a detrimental effect on the growth. It is especially low night temperatures during the growing season that can be harmful. Cotton grows and develops best when the average summer temperature is above 25°C. Cotton is mainly cultivated under dryland conditions, but about 25% of the crop comes from irrigation schemes (Loskop in Mpumalanga and the Orange River in the Northern Cape).

Area planted and production

Total cotton plantings for 1999/2000 are estimated at about 89 736 ha (South Africa 68,9%, Swaziland 26,6% and 4,5% for the rest of the region, i.e. Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe), which is 35,9% lower than the plantings of 139 911 ha (1998/99). Approximately 86% of the total crop (76% in the 1998/99 season) was cultivated under dryland conditions and the remainder under irrigation, with Swaziland cultivating 100% of its crop under dryland conditions. It was expected that 28 233 metric tons of cotton lint would be produced, (141 167 bales of 200 kg each)—46,9% less than in 1998/99. South Africa was expected to account for 23 259 metric tons and Swaziland for 3 006 metric tons. The main contributor to the downward pressure on production was the decrease in total plantings, which, according to Cotton South Africa, was due to negative speculation resulting from low international prices at planting. Hail damage and worm infestation prior to June 2000 had a detrimental effect on the output. Favourable weather conditions, especially in the Northern Province, resulted in big improvements in the dryland yields, curtailing the impact of negative factors.

Areas planted to cotton and the production of cotton lint from 1995/96 to 1999/2000, compare as follows:

Marketing arrangements

On 5 January 1998, the Cotton Board terminated its functions. All assets of the Board were transferred to the Cotton Trust to be used for the benefit of the entire cotton industry. A new statutory levy in terms of the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act, 1996, is applicable (currently 14c/kg cotton lint) to finance research, information, promotion and grading.

Registration, records and returns were also implemented and are administered by Cotton SA. Both the local and international marketing of cotton is free from government intervention. However, a tariff amounting to R1,60/kg is applicable to imported cotton, which may be rebated under certain conditions. Cotton SA, a Section 21 Company funded by, e.g., the cotton industry, performs the information function. Research, financed by means of statutory levies, is co-ordinated by Cotton SA and performed by the ARC.  

Prices

The producer price for seed cotton (lint and seed derived from the ball of the cotton plant before it has been ginned) for 1999/2000 was fixed at 220 c/kg for the best grade of hand-picked cotton—12% less than the average of 250 c/kg of the previous season. No reliable estimate of the average price for cotton lint (fibre derived from seed cotton after it has been ginned) was available at the time of printing but the corresponding figure for the previous year was 800 c/kg.

South African prices for seed cotton and cotton lint compare as follows:

Consumption

Consumption of cotton lint by local spinners (South Africa and Swaziland) for the 2000/01 marketing season is estimated at 400 000 bales (200 kg each), an increase of 6,6% compared to the 375 290 bales during the 1999/2000 season. Because the South African demand for cotton lint exceeds the supply, approximately 205 000 bales are expected to be imported during the 2000/01 season. However, 10 000 bales of cotton lint are expected to be exported during the same period. During the current season, cotton was mainly imported from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, while exports were mainly to the United Kingdom and Uganda.

The expected increase in the demand for cotton lint, as well as the fact that cotton can be produced under dryland conditions, creates the potential to expand cotton production.

Consumption of cotton lint compares as follows:

*  Preliminary

Dry beans

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