The producer price for dryland seed cotton in areas of the North West, such as Schweizer-Reneke, stood, at the time of going to print, at R12 000/t, compared with the maize producer price, which hovered at R3 200/t and soya bean at R8 000/t at a yield obtained under dryland conditions of 3,40t/ha, 6t/ha and 3t/ha respectively.
According to Louis Olivier, CEO of Vaalharts Cotton, the production costs for cotton in the 2022/23 season amounted to R22 620/ha, compared with R16 000/ha for maize and R10 000/ha for soya bean. In the case of cotton, it means a profit of R18 179/ha, compared with R3 200/ha for maize and R14 000/ha for soya bean.
DOLLAR PRICE
Jozeph du Plessis from Schweizer-Reneke is one of the pioneering cotton producers in North West. According to him, one of the top benefits of the South African cotton price is that it is coupled to the international NY futures dollar price.
“Because of the widespread political and infrastructural deterioration in South Africa, it is imperative that the local commercial crop farming sector considers alternative
