LAHORE: To observe cotton production, processing and marketing, the top officials of Pakistani companies have visited the US Cotton Belt.
The visit was made under the COTTON USA Pakistan Special Trade Mission, organised by Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotions arm of National Cotton Council.
During the 2014-15 marketing year in US (which ends on July 31, 2015), Pakistan ranks as the eighth largest US cotton importer with current US export commitments to Pakistan of 335,000 bales – up from 169,000 bales in the 2013-14 marketing year.
This trade mission’s 11 participating Pakistani companies collectively are expected to consume about 1.8 million bales in this marketing year of which 184,000 bales, or 10 percent, will be US cotton.
In a statement, CCI President Dahlen K Hancock said, “We believe there is potential for even greater sales of US cotton to this growing market. This event empowered CCI to provide some high-level Pakistani textile manufacturing executives a better understanding of US raw cotton’s merits including our fibre’s superior quality and our industry’s outstanding reputation for timely delivery.”
The Pakistani delegation visited New York and attended a CCI briefing and an ICE Futures seminar. They saw cotton research in North Carolina, toured the USDA cotton classing office in Bartlett, Tenn, and visited a farm in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
