International Cotton Association’s Focus: Engage, Educate, Communicate
January 7, 2014 In 1960, John F. Kennedy famously said, “We stand today on the edge of a new frontier. But the new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises. It is a set of challenges.” Those words still hold true, especially for the ICA.
Past events have forced us to change and adapt in order to survive. Yet one thing is certain: These events highlight the importance of contract sanctity and responsible trading. This is what the ICA is all about, but our challenge is to make it a reality across the global supply chain.
We have made great inroads in recent years in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Indian subcontinent in strengthening international ties, but there is still more to do, especially in deterring defaulters and ensuring our awards are recognized and enforced in accordance with the New York convention. We can only truly achieve this through communication, education and engagement.
This process has already begun. Following a visit to Vietnam in July, I shared an idea with the ICA directors to set up dedicated working groups to gather local knowledge and assist in driving forward diplomatic initiatives to enable us to effectively engage in dialogue with governments and apply pressure at the highest possible level. Working groups are now in place for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Others will follow and I truly believe that the initiative will have a major, positive impact in the coming years.
In today’s environment, business has moved from informal handshakes to iron clad contracts and the upheavals caused during recent years have cost this trade dearly. Contract sanctity remains our guiding principle. The ICA was set up as an association of people epitomizing trust and integrity. It is incumbent upon all of us to uphold these values no matter how difficult times may be. We must learn from the past and ensure that we remain united, not look at short-term gains only to realize long-term pain.
Trading with any defaulter completely compromises our principles and creates incomprehensible injustice, penalizing all those who honor contracts and who follow the highest standards of ethical and good trading practices.
There should be no room or tolerance for anyone who trades with a defaulter. This, to me, is paramount if we are to maintain cotton’s global prominence.
Engaging and Training the Market
We are working very hard to promote this message and one way we are making an impact is through our training programs. In addition to our existing range of courses, we have delivered free workshops to cotton communities in Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia, focusing on cotton contracting and the application of the ICA Bylaws & Rules. The workshops have been a huge success and we will be holding more in 2014. It is an excellent way to engage with the market, improve knowledge and standards, and promote the safe trading message.
Looking back, the events of the past few years have highlighted how doing business in the cotton world has changed. The importance of building and maintaining relationships appears to have diminished, but the ICA is trying to encourage this once again by nurturing a cotton community that is based on respect, trust and integrity.
Despite difficult global economic conditions, our membership continues to grow, now at 550 and expected to rise still further during 2014. By making membership more affordable for mills and producers and by introducing new categories for agents, associations and association firms, ICA membership is now appealing to all sectors of the trade, especially those who want to reduce their trading risks.
Ultimately, we want ICA members to trade with other ICA members, but to do this we need to have enough members of the right caliber joining the ICA. It is not just about numbers, but also about ensuring that new members are reputable and will uphold our values.
The ICA sits at the heart of the cotton community. Our vision is to have one set of rules for the world to trade cotton and for every reputable firm to be an ICA member.
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