Orientation tour to introduce US Cotton industry

Textile executives from 13 countries participated in the weeklong COTTON USA Orientation Tour to familiarize themselves with U.S. cotton and how that fiber is produced, processed and marketed. Participants met with exporters in the four major Cotton Belt regions while touring cotton farming, ginning, processing, classing and research facilities. The 13 representative countries imported 11.1 million bales of U.S. cotton in the last marketing year, 85 percent of U.S. cotton’s total worldwide sales.

Nearly 800 textile executives from more than 60 countries have toured the U.S. Cotton Belt via CCI’s Orientation Tour, which was initiated in 1968. The tour continues to be an excellent vehicle for helping U.S. cotton capture additional market share overseas.

The 2007 COTTON USA Executive Delegation provided updates on U.S. cotton to textile industry leaders from Vietnam, Pakistan and Turkey, markets that CCI’s Export Promotion Committee identified as key targets for the U.S. cotton industry.

The delegation discussed U.S. cotton’s quality and sustainability, U.S. and world production, supply and demand, U.S. farm legislation and World Trade Organization (WTO) issues, futures and options, Supima and the COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing program.

CCI President Michael Adams led the U.S. delegation, which also included Rickey Bearden and Don Cameron (American Cotton Producers); Andy Weil and Joe Nicosia (American Cotton Shippers Association); Grady Martin (AMCOT); Joe O’Neill (ICE Futures U.S.); and Marc Lewkowitz (Supima).

In 2007, Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam imported about 7.9 million bales of cotton, and recent U.S. market share is roughly 45 percent. Mill use in these countries totaled 20.2 million bales in 2007.