澳大利亚棉花产量下降近一半

Australia’s cotton output to fall by almost half
Driven by a large fall in the area planted to cotton, the production of white gold in Australia is forecast to fall by almost half in 2014-15, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES).
In its Australian Crop Report, released this month, ABARES says “Less than favourable seasonal conditions during winter and spring in Queensland and northern New South Wales depleted soil moisture levels and irrigation water availability, resulting in unfavourable planting conditions at the start of the summer crop planting window.”
The report predicts the area planted to summer crops to fall by 13 per cent to 974,000 hectares, driven by a large fall in the area planted to cotton. Accordingly, it predicts a 13 per cent fall in summer crop production to around 3.2 million tonnes in 2014-15.
According to the report, “Cotton production is forecast to fall by almost half in 2014-15 to 470,000 tonnes of cotton lint and 665,000 tonnes of cottonseed, largely reflecting the fall in planted area.”
The area planted to cotton is estimated to decline to 210,000 hectares in 2014-15, from 392,000 hectares in 2013-14. “This reflects relatively low cotton prices at the time of planting and dry seasonal conditions over winter, which reduced the level of irrigation water in dams serving Australia’s cotton growing regions,” states the report.
译文如下：
澳大利亚棉花产量下降近一半
据澳大利亚农业资源经济科学局（ABARES）称，2014/15年度，誉有白金之称的棉花由于种植面积大幅下降，导致本年度澳大利亚棉花产量下降近一半。
根据本月澳大利亚农作物报告称，由于冬季和春季不利的季节性条件，使得澳大利亚昆士兰和新南威尔士北部昆士兰和新南威尔士北部贫瘠，不利于棉花作物的生长。
报告显示，本年度夏季棉花作物种植面积下降13%至97.4万公顷，作物产量下降13%至320万吨左右。
根据这份报告，2014/15年度澳大利亚棉花产量预计将下降近一半至47万吨皮棉和66.5万吨籽棉，这很大程度上反映了该地区种植面积剧降。
2014/15年度，棉花种植面积从上年度39.2万公顷下降至21万公顷。这表明棉花价格相对较低，同时冬天气候干燥，使得澳大利亚棉花种植区灌溉用水减少。