Viability of the U.S. cotton industry is dependent on an offtake of more than 12 million bales. Our domestic mills are the strong and loyal customers that consume about half of the U.S. cotton crop. Of course we cannot afford to take this segment of the market for granted.

But in order to justify an efficient level of production, we are also dependent on a strong export market. Cotton Council International's program is focused on developing our export markets and I will concentrate on CCI's activities to achieve this goal. Please keep in mind that similar programs are being conducted by the National Cotton Council and Cotton Incorporated to support the domestic textile industry and increase cotton consumption here in the United States.

It has been said that if China, with a population of over one billion people, could increase consumption of cotton textile products by the equivalent of one pair of jeans per person, then the world's supply and demand problems could be solved. The truth of the matter is that in the past five years, the Chinese have done precisely that, yet we still have an imbalance in world supply and demand.

So, how can the U.S. cotton industry insure itself of a strong export market? Will a large crop guarantee an export market? Will a strong market development program find a market for all of our production? Or must we always offer our cotton at a lower price than our competition?