THEY say that cotton is a desert plant, and looking at the Australian classing results from the drought ravaged 2006/07 season it would be a pretty tough point to argue against.

Quality was nothing short of sensational, with classing statistics showing the best grade and staple characteristics in years.

Farmers were able to make extremely efficient use of what water they had available, which combined with the long warm summer and clear skies, produced excellent growing conditions in the areas where cotton was planted. It is just a pity that there wasn't more of it.

The Australian Cotton Shippers Association's classing statistics show that more than 92 per cent of the cotton classed in 2006/07 registered staple length of 1-1/8" and better. This is in line with last year's results and was an improvement on the 2004/05 season's 84.2pc and 78.7pc recorded in 2003/04. It is also well above the five year average of 81.7pc.

Even more pleasing is the fact that more than 68pc of the crop stretched to 1-5/32" and better!

Farming practices geared toward the most efficient use of available water have helped generate these excellent staple results, which bodes well for the future of our industry as new longer staple genetics come on line with improved seed varieties in coming seasons.

It was no surprise that the clear "drought" skies that persisted throughout the relatively quick harvest period also generated the best grade results in years, with almost 82pc of the cotton grading out as 21-3 or better. This bettered last season's 66.29pc and even topped the outstanding 2004/05 season's mark of 80pc.

On face value, these staple and grade characteristics put us well on track to compete with the cotton world's premium producers in the San Joaquin Valley of California - but we still have some catching up to do with regards micronaire and strength.

Most of the Australian crop continues to fall in teh 4.6-4.9 NCL micronaire band, with just under 44pc managing to hit the "premium" 3.8-4.5 NCL band in the 2006/07 season. This compares with more than 70pc in teh premium band for Californian cotton.

With regards strength, about 69pc of the Australian cotton classed in 2006/07 has been above 30GPT, which is a slight drop on last year's 73.45pc. Overall, the strength of Australian cotton has improved inrecent seasons, with the 2006/07 result well above the five year average of 58pc. That said, we still remain behind the Californians, who are averaging close to 90pc above 30GPT year in year out.

Thus, micronaire and strength remain the key points of differentiation between Australian and SJV styles, and the Australian industry, together with researchers and seed companies are taking steps to address these issues.

A range of new varieties are in the pipeline that will take Australian cotton to the next level, and our researchers are telling us that upland varieties that will consistnetly deliver 1-1/4" staple, average 4.0 mic and 40GPT strength are just around the corner.

ACSA will be actively encouraging the uptake of these varieties by the growing public, and we believe that there will be significant premiums available to our industry if we can generate some scale to what we hope will be a "super premium" upland niche.