Andalusia cotton output rises as acreage falls

For the Andalusian farm economy, the numbers cut both ways. A better harvest supports farm income, local ginning plants and the broader industrial chain that depends on cotton, which remains Spain’s overwhelmingly dominant production area for the crop. But the shrinking acreage shows growers are still walking away from cotton because rising input costs and weak farm-gate pricing are eroding margins.

That makes the crop strategically important well beyond the field. The Junta says cotton is one of Andalusia’s key industrial crops and a source of thousands of seasonal jobs, especially in irrigated areas that help stabilize rural employment. More than 40,800 hectares are irrigated, while just 4,800 hectares are dryland, highlighting how dependent the sector is on water availability and weather at a time when climate risk remains elevated.

Seville will again account for most of the harvest, with an expected 89,330 tons, followed by Cádiz at 21,470 tons. Córdoba, Jaén and Huelva make up the remainder. The jump in output this year was helped by heavy autumn and winter rains, which improved crop conditions and pushed production above the average of the past five seasons, according to growers’ group Asaja-Sevilla.

The underlying problem, however, is structural. Asaja says the retreat in planted area is not a temporary fluctuation but the result of a steady loss of profitability. Cotton growers face higher energy, fertilizer, crop protection, irrigation and labor costs, while limited competition among ginning plants makes it harder for prices to rise enough to offset them. That dynamic matters for investors and agribusiness firms because it points to tighter supply over time even when one season’s yields look strong.

There is also a sustainability angle. The Junta says more than 36,500 hectares, or 80% of the crop area, are under integrated production certification, which aims to improve resource efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint. Specific aid for cotton in 2025 averaged about 1,244 euros per hectare, plus another 300 euros linked to sustainable practices, support that may be increasingly important if the crop is to remain viable.

Andalusia exported nearly 40,900 tons of cotton fiber worth almost 55 million euros in the first half of 2026, showing there is still external demand for the crop even as domestic acreage declines. For investors, the key question is whether higher productivity and subsidies can offset a long-term contraction in planted area — or whether the sector’s recent yield gains are merely delaying a broader structural retreat.