Gene technology giant, Monsanto has defended the increased cost of its Bollgard technology, despite the rise coming at a time of low cotton prices, limited water, and increasing competition from grain crops.
For the coming season, Bollgard II technology will cost Australian growers an additional $15/hectare, totalling $315/ha.
Stacked Bollgard/Roundup Ready Flex varieties will cost close to $400/ha.
In defence of the rise, Monsanto's Australian commercial lead, Bethwyn Todd, said the technology is still good value for growers.
"We feel that when we look at the data and the work we have done in understanding the value and benefits of Bollgard II, the technology offers exceptional value at $315/ha," she told Queensland Country Life at last week's Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast.
"We have a huge investment and commitment to the future of the industry and probably the biggest focus is how we sustain the value of Bollgard II and glyphosate.
"A lot of the revenue and investment is directed toward ensuring sustainability."
Ms Todd declined to clarify whether cotton growers in the US - where acreage is also shrinking - are receiving a similar increase in their technology costs.
She said that the new price of the technology in Australia, is in no way proportionate to the shrinking size of the Australian crop, despite the recent harvest being about quarter of its usual size.
It is the general industry view that the cost of the equivalent technology in the US is about one third of the costs in Australia.
Ms Todd said said however, "To compare the cost of technology across countries is meaningless because it is like comparing the cost of a can of coke from one country to another.
"There are so many differences in what value the technology offers an Australian grower versus a US grower.
"There is also the cost of the regulatory process and the other barriers in bringing these products to market, as well as infrastructure costs and currency fluctuations."
However, cotton consultant John Barber, St George, says the perceived discrepancy is a hard pill for many growers to swallow - particularly as the US and Australian currencies have been reasonably close to parity.
He says, however, the main reason that growers would question the new price is because of their bottom line.
Even at the previous prices for Bollgard, he said growers were receiving better returns growing a 50/50 split of Bollgard and conventional.