Spinning Efficiency Requires High Spinnability Cotton
February 10, 2011 On behalf of both the spinner and cotton trader sectors in Japan, I would like to make four proposals regarding cotton production.
The first proposal involves the offering of “high spinnability cotton.” The current ultra-competitive business climate places increasing demands on spinnability requirements. The quality of cotton yarn depends heavily on the performance of the raw cotton it is made from, so to produce desirable and trouble-free yarns, spinners need cotton that is contamination-free and possesses excellent grade, staple length, micronaire and fiber strength. Perhaps the most bothersome contaminant is foreign matter–including various plastic products, colored strings and fabrics, and stickiness of the fiber–and this is a constant problem for spinners because there haven’t been any substantial improvements in ways to eliminate foreign matter for many years.
In addition to cotton quality, the efficiency of the spinning operation is critically important to maintaining yarn quality. Our goals are to process cotton at high speeds while preventing yarn breakage, and improve the spinning yield while reducing cotton waste. Therefore, we sincerely request that producers do all in their power to produce “high spinnability cotton.”
The second proposal involves cotton supply in a steady and sufficient volume. Cotton consumption is rapidly increasing, especially in developing countries, while the growth of production is limited. As a result, the tight supply situation continues in the world cotton market, and we earnestly hope that global production will be increased–especially for extra-fine cotton, which seems to be even more scarce than most other growths.
The third proposal is for stabilization of the world cotton prices. The steep rise and high volatility in cotton prices over the first four months of the current season reflects a combination of low global cotton stocks and continued demand by spinning mills. Furthermore, the drop in Pakistan’s production due to devastating floods, the smaller-than-expected Chinese production, and restrictions on shipments from India have raised concerns about the tight supply situation. Large, speculative transactions have also caused erratic price fluctuations in the global cotton market and have had an adverse influence upon both cotton growers and consumers. Maintaining stability in the global cotton market should be a top priority.
Finally, we propose environmentally friendly cotton production. We hope that cotton growing will be sustainable in the future. To this end, we propose the adoption of integrated pest management and other strategies that enable producers to improve resource use, reduce environmental waste, lower the discharge of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and strengthen relations with local stakeholders. Finally, it is critical that we work together to improve the working conditions of those involved in the production of cotton, particularly in countries that allow child labor.
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