Higher cotton prices in the US may be looming after the Arizona Federal Court banned the use of dicamba products for the 2024 crop. Dicamba is a popular weedkiller used by farmers.

Industry trade associations have voiced dissatisfaction with the finding, stating that more than 75 per cent of US cotton acres are planted to dicamba-tolerant varieties, and as a result, the order will have an impact throughout the Cotton Belt.

The Circuit Court of Appeals outlawed it in 2020, but the Trump Administration later reversed that decision. A federal judge in Arizona claimed that the Environmental Protection Agency had made “a crucial error” in re-approving dicamba and that the drug had not been publicly posted for public notice and discussion as required by law.

The decision “comes at an especially problematic time of the year as many producers have already made their cropping decisions, secured seed, and are doing preparatory field work,” according to the National Cotton Council.

The dicamba prohibition is another setback for the cotton industry, as it would hinder the development and uptake of innovative technologies that not only boost output but also have positive environmental effects like lowering greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, it is now pleading with the EPA to appeal the ruling.