JULY NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the July update from Northern Cotton. Last month ran relatively smoothly, with operations settling into a steady rhythm. While we experienced some minor delays in cotton arriving at the yard, we’ve adjusted by moving to 10-hour shifts for the time being, still managing to average around 400 bales per shift.

We’ve also welcomed two new ginners, Shuulikwa and Ananias, pictured below. They have joined us all the way from Zambia, having been in the ginning industry for over 10 years each. We are fortunate to have them on board as part of the team.

We are very pleased to announce that we are close to agreeing on commercial terms with AWH to provide warehousing and container packing services at the Northern Cotton site. This is an exciting additional step that we are taking to develop our vision of the site being a Multi-Commodity Agribusiness Logistics Hub for Northern Australia and facilitating export flows out of the Port of Darwin. For further details, please contact Graeme Wood on 0419 000 484.

AWH’s cotton logistics team has a wealth of experience in cotton storage, management and handling. By utilising their own in-house developed software solution, AWH can provide clients with a bespoke cotton inventory and export logistics management tool. The system extensively utilises mobile computing RF technology for warehouse management and enables clients to receive up-to-date data in real time. All AWH’s systems are designed to meet the modern demands of each individual client.

Shuulikwa and Ananias - Our new ginners

TOP END CLASSING

This year has seen the welcome establishment of Top End Classing in Kununurra, offering a much closer and faster option for classing results. In the Northern Territory, distance and freight are always part of the equation, so having a local classing facility is a real win.

Quicker turnaround times for classing results mean less delay between ginning and payment for growers, helping merchants pay growers sooner and reducing their bale demurrage costs.

Speaking with Rebecca Barrett of ACS, who oversees the classing room operation, she said, “So far, the quality has been quite varied. We've seen everything from 85s to 21s in colour and everything in between, while the other fibre characteristics are consistent with what you'd expect from a dryland crop. Of the 9,600 bales classed through TEC to date, around 20% have been discounted, with the remainder presenting as strong, clean cotton. We’re optimistic that this level of quality will continue as the season progresses. “

At Northern Cotton, we’re proud to support another growing business in the north. Investments like this help strengthen the growing cotton industry up here.