Kununurra to open local cotton classing facility, reducing costs for Ord growers

Ord growers are set to save time and money with a cotton classing facility to be built locally so they no longer have to send their produce to Queensland to be assessed. Currently Ord Growers send samples of their cotton for assessment to Goondiwindi in Queensland. 3,400km away. They then have to wait about two weeks for the cotton to be assessed before they can sell it. Ord River District Co-operative chair Fritz Bolten said storing cotton for two weeks was viewed as a hurdle for Ord growers as the industry ramps up ahead of a cotton gin opening in Kununurra mid next year. “We saw it as a real problem because if you have to store two weeks of cotton in a shed before it’s sold that it also expensive,” he said. Mr Bolten said a local cotton classing facility in Kununurra will not only save local growers time and money it is hoped Northern Territory producers will start sending their product to the East Kimberley for assessment rather than Queensland. “I think it will be a fantastic partnership for the NT growers to have a facility closer,” he said. ORDCO received a $220,000 grant from the State Government to establish the cotton classing facility. It is one of seven Kimberley businesses to share $1 million in State Government funding aimed at building business resilience and diversity in the North West. Broome-based Yawuru Jarndu Aboriginal Corporation was also a recipient of a grant, receiving $154,000 in funding to assist in the development of eight Aboriginal fashion businesses. Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation received a $170,832 grant to establish a food truck business which is expected to create at least 11 jobs for Aboriginal people in Broome and surrounding remote communities. The food trucks will run regularly at Beagle Bay, Bidyadanga and Town Beach. All funding is part of the RED Grants program a Cook Government initiative investing $50.85 million over nine years toward local business projects. Regional Development Minister Don Punch said he was pleased to see four Aboriginal-led projects making significant strides in the latest round of Regional Economic Development Grants in the Kimberley. “This demonstrates not only the immense talent within this group, but also the substantial potential for future growth and job creation for Indigenous people in the region.”