Managing supply insecurities and instability of prices will be required in the global cotton supply chain to avoid a fall in cotton's market share, particularly when alternative fibres are largely replacing cotton, says a cotton expert.
"What originated from volatility of cotton prices and supply insecurities has been given a new dimension by the way alternative fibres have reinvented themselves - blending style with comfort - that was traditionally associated with cotton ," Doug Christie, president and BU leader of Cargill Cotton told Fibre2Fashion.com.
"In the last decade, alternative fibres in particular have emerged as stronger substitutes. For cotton to defend its fibre share, managing supply and volatility will be the key," said Christie.
Cotton's loss, because of price and volatility, can be arrested. The key is to avoid any sudden changes which bring in volatility, destabilise the supply chain and affect the industry, he mentioned.
On an additional note, he suggested that both cotton supply and price issues can be addressed - to a large extent - by increasing efficiencies in the supply chain.
The focus is moving from just sourcing to price risk management and from securing supply to buying just in time. This is good for the industry as it pushes it to innovate and throw out inefficiencies, Christie said.
"We are in a period of oversupply with less government intervention; so prices should be largely stable and low. This will help in the recovery of cotton consumption, but it has to be more than a year to trend," he added.
