CCI Tour Shows Value of U.S. Cotton to Foreign Textile Execs
October 2, 2023 Textile manufacturing executives representing 15 countries will visit the U.S. Cotton Belt Sept. 30-Oct. 7 on the 42nd COTTON USA Orientation Tour.
Sponsored by Cotton Council International (CCI) – the export promotions arm of the National Cotton Council (NCC) – the tour’s major objectives are to increase U.S. cotton customers’ awareness of the types/qualities of U.S. cotton, help them gain a better understanding of U.S. marketing practices, and enhance their relationships with U.S. exporters. More than 900 textile executives from more than 60 countries have participated in this biennial tour initiated in 1968.
“The COTTON USA Orientation Tour is vital to U.S. cotton export performance,” says CCI President Steve Dyer, a Cordova, TN merchant. “For over half a century, this event has enabled our industry to showcase our high-quality U.S. cotton fiber to important international spinners, as well as build and strengthen relationships with these customers.”
This year’s Orientation Tour includes executives representing 27 companies in Bangladesh, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. These manufacturers expect to consume 5.7 million bales of cotton in 2023, while an estimated 2.9 million bales of U.S. cotton will be exported to those countries.
This represents about 23% of U.S. cotton export sales, making these companies some of U.S. cotton’s largest customers.
The Orientation Tour participants will visit a Mid-South cotton farm and gin; tour a farm and cotton warehouse in Texas; tour a Pima cotton farm in California; observe cotton research in North Carolina and Mississippi, and tour the USDA cotton classing office in Bartlett, TN.
They will also meet with U.S. cotton exporters and get briefings from CCI, NCC, Cotton Incorporated, American Cotton Shippers Association, Texas Cotton Association, Lubbock Cotton Exchange, Amcot, American Cotton Producers, Delta Council, Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., Western Cotton Shippers Association, and Supima. These meetings provide opportunities for U.S. cotton industry representatives to strengthen relationships with some of U.S. cotton’s top customers and impact export sales.
Information from Cotton Council International
GET THE NEWSLETTER TODAY!
