Four Proposals for Cotton Production

By Jim.Robinson|March 17, 2010

On behalf of both spinners and cotton traders in Japan, I would like to report on the current situation in the Japanese cotton industry and to make four proposals regarding cotton production.

The first proposal involves offering “high spinnability cotton.” High-quality cotton products cannot be made without the right quality and defect-free yarns; high-quality yarns heavily depend on quality cotton. We, the cotton consumers, need cotton that satisfies the two objectives of quality and efficiency.

The second proposal involves a sufficient and stable supply of extra-fine cotton. World extra-fine cotton production is expected to decrease substantially in the 2009-10 season. We earnestly hope that sufficient volume of extra-fine cotton will be produced to cover world demand.

The third proposal is for environment-friendly cotton production. We hope that cotton production will be sustainable and, for that purpose, we advocate the adoption of integrated pest management, or other management methods that enable producers to improve resource use, reduce environmental damage, lower discharge of CO₂ and other greenhouse gas, and strengthen relations with local stakeholders. It is also important to improve the working conditions of those involved in cotton production.

Finally, we propose stabilization of the world cotton price. Large speculative transactions have caused erratic price fluctuations in the world cotton market and have had an adverse influence upon both the cotton growers and consumers. Therefore, we strongly encourage governments to revamp their enforcement rules to provide greater oversight to commodity futures trading, especially the over-the-counter derivative markets, to make participants accountable and trades transparent to stabilize the cotton market situation.