Cotton RDC commissioned this research to assist the cotton industry in understanding how it contributes to the Australian economy. The project has established a data framework and analysis that can be cost effectively updated and replicated over time. There are two main outputs of this project: — The value and importance of the cotton industry to the Australian economy. — An update to the results of the last study and comparison of the results between the 2021-22 and 2015-16 production years. The framework was built at the LGA level. The rationale for building the framework from an LGA level is that it provides more detail than a regional level, is better for statistical accuracy and Census data is reported at this level. Cotton is grown in 32 LGAs in Australia. Some of these LGAs produced very little cotton in 2016, and 14 LGAs (all located in NSW and Queensland) produced 88 per cent by volume in 2016. Unfortunately, 2021-22 production data was only available at the state level, not by LGA. 2020-21 was used as the base for breaking down state production into production by LGA, as it was the most recent year with production reported on by LGA. As the production seasons in 2015-16 and 2021-22 were very different, LGA production proportions in 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2016-17 (high production years) were applied to adjust this base to 2021-22 production levels. The same 14 LGAs were used as in the previous analysis. The data used in the analysis covered 99.5% of production in 2021-22. Note that ABS are changing the way they measure and report agricultural data, with LGA data expected to be reported on again in the future