Brazil to be Model for Venezuelan Cotton Comeback
October 2, 2013 The Venezuela-based Grupo Teleras Maracy, a leading textile group in Venezuela, has proposed a plan to promote the cultivation of cotton in Venezuela.
The proposal focuses on successfully copying experiences observed in neighboring countries, including the use of new technologies, El Mundo reported.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Venezuela lost 55.7%of its cotton planted area between 1975 and 2012, and last year cotton was sown on just 24,125 hectares of land.
The proposal by Grupo Teleras Maracay is in response to the Government seeking ideas and suggestions from textile industry players in the country on what to do to revive the cotton sector and its exports.
Marcos Zarikian, who heads Grupo Teleras Maracay, said there were two major cotton producing groups during the Venezuelan cotton boom between 1970 and 1988.
One group was Cotton Mata which planted cotton on the banks of River Orinoco and the other was the National Association of Cotton Growers (ANCA) who used the mechanized form of cultivation in Acarigua area.
Grupo Teleras Maracay president explained that growing on the banks of Orinoco is inefficient as it would require more labor. He said farmers in this region have small growing areas ranging from two to four acres and it would be impossible for them to export unless the price is so exorbitant.
He said Mato Grosso in southern Brazil can serve as a role model for Venezuelan cotton. In Mato Grosso, cotton grows along with corn and soybeans, three times a year with yields being higher than the world average.
His conclusion is based on a test he carried out for seven years on 700 acres of farm in Acarigua by investing $6.5 million. The test plot is already planting cotton, corn, and sorghum three times a year, with results resembling those observed in Mato Grosso, Zarikian said.
He explained that the issue today is not to raise the price of raw material and try to plant more cotton to meet domestic needs, but to actually make a small investment and effort that can achieve high levels of productivity.
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