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Argentina summit to focus on cotton

Refayet Ullah Mirdha
THE 70th plenary meeting of the standing committee of International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) will take place in
Buenos Aires, Argentina from September 4-10.
In the meeting, representatives from more than 40 countries and 10 international organisations will discuss the world cotton industry that experienced record prices, high volatility and great changes in the structure of the industry, ICAC said in a
statement in its website.
The representatives will also discuss the roles of the state and the private sector, including the associations, organisations and cooperatives of farmers, in technology change, and the development of the Argentine textile industry.
A technical seminar on "Technological innovations for sustainable development of the cotton value chain” will also take place in a session.
The committee will widely discuss the organic cotton production: the reality of costs and benefits and managing the impacts of volatile cotton prices, the
statement also added.
Topics like ensuring responsible labour standards in the cotton value chain, demand enhancement, measuring cotton supply and use in the 21st century, and the opportunities and benefits of producing branded cotton will also be discussed in the meeting.
Mohammad Ayub, president of Bangladesh Cotton Association, said no representative from Bangladesh will attend the meeting, as it is mainly a platform of the cotton growing countries. He said the committee discusses important issues on cotton every year in different countries.
"But, we receive the recommendations of the meeting which is held every year in the member countries," Ayub said. Generally, the meeting focuses on the organising country although it discusses the world cotton situation, he said.
The 69th plenary meeting of the body was held in Lubbock, Texas, USA during September 21-25, in 2010. After the meeting, the secretariat reported that the world cotton production is expected to rise by 16 percent in 2010-11, encouraged by the significant rise in cotton prices during the past year.
The Washington-based ICAC member countries are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, China (Taiwan), Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Mali, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
reefat@thedailystar.net