A South African company specializing in the provision of agricultural services and resources in the Northwestern province of South Africa, NWK has estimated that cotton production in this region of the country can be extremely profitable.
According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee, world demand for it increased by 8% and reached 26.4 million tons in the 2017-2018 season. The company's specialists say that cotton can be used without depleting the soil and without harming the environment, which makes it an excellent choice as an environmentally friendly fiber throughout the product life cycle.
The company recently conducted a survey to determine the potential for production and expansion of cotton plantings in the service area of the company, which includes Lichtenburg and Mahikeng in the northwest. The main production regions in the province are Stella, Delareyville and Schweizer-Reneke, which together produced 17,832 bales of cotton fluff (200 kg each) from a provincial crop of 23,299 bales last season. In South Africa in 2017-2018. farmers harvested 195,805 bales of cotton fluff (200 kg each), which is 152% more than in the previous season.
Dry land and irrigation plantations increased by 67% and 171%, respectively, most likely due to growing demand for cotton and the fact that the price of cotton is currently higher than other commodities in South Africa, such as corn. According to company experts, cotton can generate a profit per hectare of 37,550 South African rand at a price of 7.51 rand per kilogram of cotton fluff and a yield of 5 tons per hectare. And, at the same time, the income from corn is 20,000 South African rand per hectare with a maize yield of 10 tons per hectare. For reference: 1 South African rand is approximately equal to 0.0697 US dollars.
