FARMERS are considering planting Australia's biggest cotton crop in five years, as good rainfall and a rise in world prices make it more attractive than other summer crops.
Rising demand for cotton products and global supply shortages had pushed up prices, said Rabobank senior commodities analyst Wayne Gordon, and some commentators expected cotton to rise to a 15-year high, The Australian Financial Review reports.
"While at the moment wheat is the darling of the commodities market, the cotton price has been one of those quiet achievers over the past 12 to 14 months," Mr Gordon said.
Chief executive of Cotton Australia, Adam Kay, said there could be as much as 240,000 hectares of irrigated crop planted this year and up to 100,000 hectares of dryland cotton.
That's a big increase on last year's total crop area of 185,000 hectares, Mr Kay said.