BCI is excited to announce the launch of our 2015 Harvest Report now online in the form of an interactive map that displays the latest harvest results shortly after Better Cotton is harvested in a country.
Better Cotton is sown and harvested in different annual cycles across the world, which means that harvest data becomes available from different regions throughout the calendar year. When a country’s harvest results are finalised, they will be released on the 2015 Harvest Report map on an ongoing basis. Previously, all the results for a harvest year were compiled into a single report that was released late the following year. By releasing Better Cotton results in a timely manner, we will have more opportunities to share the progress we are making towards improving cotton growing conditions globally.
The 2015 Harvest Report is live on the BCI website and contains the latest Harvest Report for Australia. The report notes that during the 2015 harvest season, Australia’s cotton farmers faced severe drought conditions in many areas, which impacted the amount of water available for irrigation. As a result, farmers planted only 48% of the originally planned area (196,698 Ha. vs. 414,000 Ha.). However, a combination of ideal growing conditions, good farm management practices and use of improved cotton seed varieties contributed to record yields up to 2950 kg (15 bales) per hectare and a total production of 499,400 MT (56% of the 2014 crop). Average yields set a record at 11.5 bales per hectare, up from the previous best of 10.1 bales.
The next Harvest Report to be released will be Mozambique at the end of April.
