The main theme of the 77th General Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee Cotton is “Challenges: Smart and Sustainable Solutions”and covers a number of topics such as production, consumption, inventory, exports, import and prices in cotton as well as fighting pest resistance against bio-technological cottons, use of drones and robots in farms, additional earnings by the farmers, TruthAboutCotton campaign of OCAC for the allegations in media against the cotton industry.
Stating global cotton production has increased by 17 percent compared to the previous season and reached 26,75 million tons in the world during 2017/18 season during the General Meeting of ICAC, Jak Eskinazi, Coordinatorship Head of the Aegean Exporters’ Association, says the global cotton production is expected to fall to 26.12 million during 2018/19 season due to contraction in the cultivation areas, lack of water and without an extra improvement in productivity.
As for the large cotton producing countries, Eskinazi suggests, a decrease in cotton cultivation areas is expected. “Many big cotton producer countries are expected to decrease in cotton cultivation areas. The reasons behind such decrease are specified to be ongoing pest problems, adverse weather conditions, lack of water and changes in government policies. Therefore, it is revealed that the global cotton planting area is projected as 33.6 million hectares with a 1% decrease compared to the previous season”, comments Eskinazi.
Cotton consumption, in 2017/18 season with an increase of 9 percent, 26.81 million tons of the reminiscent of Eskinazi, 2018/19 season increased by 3 percent to 27.5 million tons is expected to increase said.
Cotton Stocks To Recede
Suggesting that the world cotton stock amounts will remain stable in the beginning of the 2018/19 season compared to the previous season, Jak Eskinazi, Coordinatorship Head further explains that consumption within the season will be higher than production and stocks will thus decrease. He also says the price of cotton is 88 cent/lb in average for 2017/18 season and he foresees the price for 2018/19 as 85 cent/Ib.
China To Be The Leader In Cotton Consumption While Turkey Is The Fourth Country
While the highest consumption of cotton is expected to be in China with 9.2 million tons, 5.25 million tons of cotton will be consumed in India, the second largest consumer. Pakistani cotton consumption ranks third by 2.3 million tons, Turkey will be fourth country in the list with 1.7 million tons of cotton consumption during 2018/19 season. In cotton consumption, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia will follow these countries.
The International Cotton Advisory Committee predicts the fiber consumption of the textile sector worldwide will reach 105.5 million tons in 2020 and 121 million tons in 2025. The world's fiber demand will increase by 25.5 million tons between 2017 and 2025.
Regions For Organic Cotton Production Must Be Allocated
During the World Cafe sessions held on the topic of organic cotton, where Turkey is dominant, a series of conversations are held on farmers' economy, ecology and environment, innovation and R&D, organic seed production, diversification and policies. During the session, it is emphasized that the development of organic cotton production efficiency still requires a substantial amount of research, that certain regions should be allocated for organic cotton seed production and ginning in order to facilitate production and organic cotton marketing and organic cotton market intelligence should be strengthened.
Another issue discussed during the General Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee meeting is the 7th World Cotton Research Conference to be held in Izmir with organisation to be held by the Ministry of Commerce Coordination and Aegean Exporters' Association. A meeting is held with ICAC officials for a productive 7th World Cotton Research Conference.
