The Cotton USA celebrated the seventh edition of Cotton Day in the capital on Wednesday.
At the grand event, the organization presented papers on a number of topics including Global Cotton Economic Outlook, USA Cotton Supply and Demand and US Logistics, as well as case studies of proven benefits of Cotton USA, assisted by the Cotton USA Solutions program.
William Bettendorf, director of South Asia of Cotton Council International (CCI) said that they are thankful for the support of the Bangladeshi customers who have embraced the US Cotton Trust Protocol.
“There are 81 local Bangladeshi mills and manufacturers that are our members and the number is more than 900 globally,” he added.
Country Representative, Bangladesh of Cotton USA and Consultant of Cotton Council International Ali Arsalan said: “As the US Cotton Trust Protocol continues to add leading brands and retailers, and existing members scale up, we look forward to the continued ‘demand pull’ of US Cotton via the program.”
“We are also excited to support our members via the complimentary Cotton USA Solutions program to ensure that they achieve maximum profitability and efficiency using US cotton,” he added.
In his speech, US Deputy Chief of Mission Helen LaFave said that the $90 million grant for Climate Smart Cotton to the US Cotton Trust Protocol demonstrates the United States’ commitment to sustainable cotton production.
CCI, the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America, started observing Cotton Day in 2016 to accelerate the positive aspects of cotton as the preferred fibre for consumers and the textile industry.
According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), the country is currently consuming approximately 8.5 million bales of raw cotton annually.
Domestically produced cotton accounts for less than 2% of total cotton consumption and the total cotton cultivation in Bangladesh covers only 0.55% of the country’s 8.1 million hectares of arable land.
Moreover, Bangladesh is projected to consume total domestic raw cotton of 9.31 million bales in the 2022-23 marketing year (MY), up 5.6% over MY2021-2022 from the current consumption of 8.5 million bales, according to a latest report published by the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.
Meanwhile, US-based cotton fibre promoters and manufacturers are hopeful that the market for American cotton will grow further in Bangladesh, which is the world’s second-highest cotton importer and second-largest apparel exporter.
Moreover, they also believe that the US has been slowly turning into a good source of cotton for Bangladeshi millers.
In the event, Carl Peltzer of Cargill Cotton, Steve Dyer, global marketing head of Louis Dreyfus Company, Jane Singer, Joerg Bauersachs and over 150 participants including spinning and textile mill owners, executives, garment manufacturers, and international brands and retailers were present.
