Cotton's Week: May 9, 2003

NCC Chairman Bobby Greene and President Mark Lange had very productive visits with Senate and House members from throughout the Cotton Belt and members of the Administration during a visit to Washington, DC, that offered opportunities for strengthening relationships and acknowledging assistance for work on cotton industry issues.

Industry priorities and concerns were reviewed with Sen. Lincoln (D-AR) and Reps. Cramer (D-AL), Bonilla (R-TX) and Kingston (R-GA).

In addition, Greene and Lange met with USDA undersecretaries Penn and Hawks and other officials within USDA and the White House.

Cotton Council International (CCI) President Bobby Carson, a Marks, MS, producer, joined leaders of several agricultural commodity and farm groups to provide briefings for House and Senate staff members on the value to agriculture of export development programs.

Carson explained how consumer demand for cotton was built through industry self-help programs and through legislation to permit a national cotton research and promotion effort. He cited several examples of program successes, specifically reviewing CCI’s work with Turkey, which has become one of the top US fiber markets since CCI launched its program there in ’90.

Carson pointed out that programs such as the Foreign Market Development Program and the Market Access Program help farmers ensure a market for their cotton, take their price from the market not from the program and offer an incentive for the industry to work together for a common goal.

In response to a request from the Chinese embassy, NCC Chairman Bobby Greene and President Mark Lange provided an overview of NCC operations and reviewed cotton and textile trade issues with a Chinese delegation in Washington.

The delegation had several questions regarding textile trade, and both Greene and Lange felt the meeting was productive for both sides. The delegation also met with textile organizations while in Washington.

The delegation was led by the Vice Minister of the National Textile Import and Export Corp. and included representatives of the Chinese embassy, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, the National Textile Industries Council and the China Textile International Exchange Centre.

Appointments to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Cotton, Peanuts, Planting Seeds and Tobacco, which advises USDA on agricultural trade policy matters, were announced. Members appointed from the cotton industry are: Kenneth Hood, Gunnison, Mississippi; Tom Smith, AMCOT, Bakersfield, CA; Bobby Weil, Weil Brothers Cotton, Montgomery, AL; Bill Dunavant, III, Dunavant Enterprises, Memphis, TN; Billy Carter, North Carolina Cotton Producers, Scotland Neck, NC; Ott Bean, Gideon, MO; Chuck Earnest, Steele, MO; Kater Hake, Delta & Pine Land, Scott, MS; Gary Adams, Vice President, Economics and Policy Analysis, NCC; and William A. Gillon, NCC trade consultant and general counsel.

In a related appointment, Gaylon B. Booker, NCC consultant, was reappointed to the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade.

A press conference and fashion show in Mumbai commemorated the launch of the Seal of Cotton to be featured on quality 100% cotton products in India under the Cotton Gold Alliance (CGA), an initiative formed by Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated in ’01 to promote cotton among India’s emerging middle-class market.

Fifteen leading Indian apparel and home furnishing companies have signed on as CGA partners and will participate in advertising and promotions featuring the seal in the "New Face of Cotton" campaign. Partners also will incorporate the Seal into their own advertising campaigns and retail promotions.

Each partner was recognized publicly during the press conference. B.K. Patodia, chairman of GTN Textiles, and P.M. Nevatia of Century Textiles gave verbal support of the program. The event was attended by more than 75 journalists representing major national dailies, regional and local newspapers and several television channels, including CNBC.

Ginners still have time to apply for the National Cotton Ginners Assn. Stoneville and Western Gin Schools, both of which are offering level I-III instruction. The Stoneville school is set for June 17-19 at the USDA Gin Lab in Stoneville, MS, with the Western school scheduled July 14-16 at the USDA Gin Lab in Mesilla Park, NM.

A Special Topics course for advanced and certified ginners will be offered at both schools. At Stoneville, the course will cover a comprehensive study of air handling in the ginning process along with other subjects. The Western School course will focus on management aspects of dealing with labor and safety issues.

Additional information on both schools as well as on-line registration is available at the NCGA web site, http://ncga.cotton.org or by calling Dr. Bill Norman at 901-274-9030.

"Cottonseed Payment Application and Certification" forms (CCC Cotton A-6) were mailed the week of April 28 and should have been received at all gins by May 5. The deadline for all applications to be returned is May 23.

Because forms from all eligible gins must be returned before payments are made, eligible gins are encouraged to contact Gene Rosera at USDA (202-720-8481) or by email at gene_rosera@wdc.usda.gov if they have not yet received a form.

Ginners are advised to carefully review the application’s instructions and terms. The application requests verification of individual gin’s 5-digit code number, total lint weight ginned and number of running bales processed during the ’02 crop year. Gins are reminded that by executing the application, they agree to share the payment with cotton producers to the extent that the effect of the low seed prices in the ’02 crop were borne by producers or to the extent that such sharing is consistent with the arrangements between producers and gins.

A Cotton Council International (CCI) trade team reported that opportunities remain strong for additional US exports following a visit to key US cotton-consuming textile mills in India. The team included Rodger Glaspey, American Cotton Shippers Assn., Hans Kretschmer AMCOT and Jesse Curlee and Marc Lewkowitz of Supima.

Team members said they expect imports of upland cotton to remain strong and could double from the current 350,000-bale commitment by the close of the current marketing year. It is estimated that cotton imports will continue in the 1.5 to 2 million-bale range in coming years and that the US could account for 50% of the imports.

The group visited mills in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Coimbatore and heard positive reports of spinners’ experiences with US Pima. Many mills’ ELS needs are covered for the remainder of the ’02-03 season, but expectations are that use of US Pima will continue to grow. Spinners noted that overall quality, consistency and low contamination, as well as the Supima marketing program, should continue to drive sales of US Pima.

The NCC and Cotton Foundation recently completed a brochure on the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) that will be part of the curriculum for Progressive Farmer magazine’s Farm Safety Day Camp^® program. Farm Safety Day Camp is coordinated and sponsored by The Progressive Farmer Foundation and corporate sponsors, including The Cotton Foundation.

The WPS brochure focuses on youth age 8-10 who will participate in 118 day camps in Cotton Belt states.

This activity concludes the Cotton Foundation project on WPS that was developed and produced by the NCC in cooperation with the EPA’s WPS staff and state agricultural officials. Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Company provided funds to sponsor the information program. The entire series of WPS newsletters and information sheets is posted on the NCC web site at www.cotton.org/tech/safety/wps.

NCC is urging eligible industry members to seek selection to the ’03-04 Cotton Leadership Class. NCC Member Services Director John Gibson, who manages the program, said applications are due July 1, and those interested can visit the Cotton Leadership Program’s web site at http://leadership.cotton.org to download the application and review the program curriculum and eligibility requirements. The site also includes a contact form that allows users to submit questions, request information and schedule a personal visit with local program alumni.

The 10-member leadership class, comprised of 4 producers and a participant from each of the other 6 industry segments, participates in 5 weeks of activities that feature tours of innovative cotton production and processing throughout the Cotton Belt, attendance at major NCC meetings, communications training and visits with key lawmakers in Washington, DC. The program, now in its 20th year, is supported by a grant to The Cotton Foundation from DuPont Crop Protection.

Export sales of 202,000 480-lb. bales in the week ending May 1 pushed total marketing-year sales to approximately 11.9 million bales, just slightly behind the 12 million bales sold at this point in the ’01-02 marketing year. New-crop (’03-04) sales reached 1 million bales.

Shipments for the week were 295,400 bales, bringing total exports to date to 8.3 million bales, down from 8.5 million at the comparable point in the ’01-02 marketing year. If the pace of recent weeks is maintained, exports for the marketing year would reach USDA’s projection of 10.8 million bales.