Most of the panel of speakers at ICAC’s 73rd Plenary Meeting, were of the consensus that all stake holders in the cotton industry should work together to increase its consumption, vis-a-vis manmade fibres (MMF).
"Cotton is a business and competition is healthy, but at the end of the day, it's in all of our best interests to work together to increase the overall size of the pie," Kevin Latner from Cotton Council International, USA said.
“Even as cotton-producing nations around the world seek to differentiate their fiber based on its unique quality characteristics, one concept; competition and battle with synthetic fibres unites them all,” ICAC said.
The panelists included; Michael Murray from Cotton Australia, Joao Luiz Ribas Pessa from ABRAPA, Brazil, Vasileios Mereas from Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Kevin Latner.
ICAC said, “As important as cotton is to so many national economies, it's no surprise that countries are going to such great lengths to build and protect the value of their brands.”
Most of the speakers were of the opinion that anything that involves the buying and selling of products or services will ultimately have an element of competition.
More to the point, the value of cotton is based on more than a dozen different quality characteristics, each of which can vary widely based on where the fiber was grown, which makes nation of origin a very relevant factor in pricing.
But in the end, all of the speakers agreed that in light of cotton's ongoing battle with synthetic fibers, it's critical that all cotton-producing nations speak with a unified voice. (AR)
