Five-day International Cotton Advisory Committee Meeting Concluded

ISLAMABAD, Nov 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 04th Nov, 2016 ) : The Five-day International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) meeting concluded here on Friday with pledge by the member countries that in order to compete, cotton producers must innovate, adopt and implement cutting edge technologies that improve productivity at lower costs, besides strengthening cotton value chain.

"Government policies should focus on allowing prices to fluctuate with market forces, increasing funding for agricultural research, and implementing science based regulations that allow technology development and adoption" said that Final statement issued at the conclusion of the of the 75th Plenary Meeting on "Emerging Dynamics in Cotton: Enhancing Sustainability in the Cotton Value Chain" herld here at a local hotel.

The concluding session was presided over by ICAC Executive Director Jose Sette while the Secretary Ministry of Textile Industry Hassan Iqbal was the chief guest. The event was organized by the Ministry of Textile Industry Government of Pakistan which was largely attended by the participants.

According to the ICAC statement,the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) met in Islamabad, from October 30 to November 4, 2016 for its 75th Plenary Meeting since the establishment of the Committee in 1939.

The meeting was attended by 378 persons,including representatives from 14 Members, 4 international organizations and 4 nonmember countries.

The ICAC Secretariat reported that cotton output in 2015/16 fell due to pest attacks,competitive prices from other crops, climate change, etc., leading to a reduction in world stocks.

Although inventories were still higher than usual, the excess has started to be trimmed. Cotton continues, however, to be confronted by an extremely challenging competitive environment. The ICAC statement further said that presentations made during a session on inter-fiber competition highlighted the increasing share of the world fiber market occupied by polyester.

The Committee was presented with preliminary findings from the Secretariat's study on the economic factors underlying the growth of polyester. These results showed that polyester had made considerable gains in the market for downstream products, such as yarn, filament,staple and apparel.

This trend is due to cheaper polyester prices caused by current oil prices and underutilized industrial capacity in the polyester industry. The Committee approved a recommendation of the Private Sector Advisory Panel to broaden the terms of reference of the Secretariat's ongoing studies of the polyester market to include government support measures that have stimulated overcapacity in the polyester industry.

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