World Cotton Day — 7 October 2019

Title: 2020 Cotton Harvesting Year — The Road ahead for the Cotton Negotiations

Description: A Ministerial-level informal discussion session will address the state-of-play of the cotton trade negotiations at the WTO, covering the work undertaken to date, as well as perspectives and opportunities ahead.

Ministers from key producing and trading countries will gather to take stock of the cotton negotiations and express their views on the way forward and the kind of outcome and level of ambition.

Organizer: WTO Secretariat

Programme: coming up shortly.

Title: Value addition for a resilient cotton sector in Africa

Description: In many cotton-producing countries in Africa, textile and apparel industries collapsed in the 1990s and have yet to recover. As a result, these countries export nearly all their lint without adding any value to the fibre. Apart from crushing cotton seed, they also add relatively little value to by-products, such as stalks, linters or ginning and spinning residues. Generating little value added, the cotton sector therefore relies on volatile international markets. Meanwhile, risk-averse farmers have reacted to volatile prices by growing less cotton, creating a vicious cycle, in which lower production of raw material represents the main impediment to new value-added processing activities in Africa.

Policies to build a more resilient cotton sector in Africa must therefore develop value-added activities that contribute to increased incentives for farmers to grow more cotton.

In this session, experts will share perspectives and success stories on how African countries can reimagine the cotton-to-clothing value chain and capitalize on cotton by-products, while making cotton more profitable for farmers.

Organizers: UNCTAD and ITC Secretariats

Programme: coming up shortly.

Title: Market and policy trends in the cotton sector: prospects for sustainability

Description: The primary objective of the side event is to shed light on the underlying drivers that will shape development prospects for the world cotton market, with a particular focus on the C-4 countries, as well as examine the latest trade policy issues and their implications for the sector.

The side event will depict plausible scenarios of key market trends that are likely to affect the cotton market over the coming decade, including the relationship between man-made fibres and natural fibres as well as the extent to which technology can alter that relationship. This can serve to inform and support policy-making processes at various levels in the formulation and execution of policies and investment strategies to ensure a more sustainable cotton sector.

The side event will also serve as a platform for policy dialogue, the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of experience.

Organizer: UN FAO Secretariat

Programme: coming up shortly.

Title: Plotting the Future Path for Cotton

Description: A moderated, 75-minute panel consisting of with industry experts from throughout the cotton & textile supply chain to discuss how the future of cotton will be impacted by many factors beyond the farm, and even beyond the supply chain. The challenges of sustainability — all aspects, including social, economic and environmental future — will require innovative new solutions that take advantage of cutting-edge technologies to consider:

• Climate change will have a profound impact on cotton. About 56% of the global cotton area is dependent on rain, and water stress can lead to significant reduction in yields and will require the development of climate-resilient cultivars.
• Population growth will affect not only demand for fibre to clothe the world, and food to feed it, but also the amount of waste we produce. Recyclable and reusable textiles will become increasingly more important in the future.
• Least developed countries (LCDs) and their smallholder farmers desperately need new technologies to help them provide income for their families. ICAC's Soil & Plant Health app, and its Virtual Reality Training Programmes, are good examples of bringing technology into the fields.
• Consumer preferences and activism have forced the global cotton and textile value chain to focus more on transparency, environmental stewardship and sustainability.
• Plastic pollution affects every living thing on earth and increasing cotton consumption is one way to curtail its detrimental effects.

Organizer: ICAC Secretariat

Programme: coming up shortly.