Cotton is regarded as one of the most versatile agricultural products in the world. In South Africa, it is a significant crop in the broader agricultural value chain since it is the only natural fibre in that chain, with the fuzzy seed that is used for animal feed being a vital element.
Cotton is produced under both irrigated and dryland conditions. In the 1999/00 season, a total of 98 619ha were planted to cotton in the country, but within eight years the total planted area had declined to just over 11 000ha. In 2006, the industry recorded the smallest area planted to cotton in the past 30 years at a mere 6 800ha. During the 2021/22 season, 18 918ha of cotton were planted.
A strategic cotton summit held recently at the Blaauwbank Game Lodge near Thabazimbi, Limpopo, was an important step towards unity within the industry and for attaining a common goal throughout the entire cotton value chain.
The aim of the summit was to pull all the parties involved in the cotton business together to discuss the future of the industry and to determine what will happen over the next couple of years.
AN INDUSTRY IN DISTRESS?
“The cotton industry is shrinking and if one looks from the outside, it may come across as an industry in distress,” Jozeph du Plessis, chairperson of the South African Cotton Producers Organisation (SACPO), said at the summit.
“As an industry, however, the general feeling is that there are still a great deal of opportunities throughout the entire cotton value chain waiting to be unlocked. But for that to happen the cotton value chain needs collectively to work towards a win-win scenario so that every link in the chain can benefit. We have to jointly develop a workable strategy. If it is to be, it is up to us,” he added.
One of the first steps is to identify all the challenges that the industry is facing and list external issues that affect it.
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