Australia is expected to harvest more than 4.8 million bales of cotton in the current 2024/25 season, industry group Cotton Australia said on Monday.

The estimate of 4.8 million bales is below the record of 5.6 million bales set in the 2021/22 season but well above the average annual output of the last ten years, according to Cotton Australia data.

Harvesting began in recent weeks and will run through to May. Most of Australia's cotton is exported.

"Most of our growers have enjoyed favourable weather conditions, but we are mindful that some have been impacted by negative conditions such as very heavy rain, hail or indeed a lack of enough in-season rainfall," the group's General Manager Michael Murray said in a statement.