How competitive is cotton as a cash crop in South Africa

Cotton production in South Africa has been declining over the last 17 years from as high as 182 000 ha in 1987/88 to as little as 32 000 ha in 2001/02. This has resulted in the import of thousands of cotton lint bales annually to supply the local demand. To rectify this situation, a strategic plan to improve local cotton production (from ± 130 000 to 370 000 bales by 2007) has been developed by Cotton SA. The only way that these aims can be met, is if farmers can be encouraged to farm with cotton in stead of other cash crops. In Cotton SA, A Journal to the Cotton Industry, a financial analysis was done in which the profit margins of white maize, sunflower and cotton were compared. Under the conditions set for the analysis, the profit margins were R1 602, R1 948 and R2 739 respectively for the three crops. It was then clear that cotton had the highest profit margin, so what is keeping the production back? It might be the high input costs and/or the way in which the pricing of cotton is determined, to name a few. In this paper, commercial and small scale cotton yields, together with the constraints of the industry will be investigated to see how cotton can win back it's rightful place a high value cash crop. (Résumé d'auteur