Cotton Council International (CCI), the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC), is a non-profit trade association that promotes U.S. cotton fiber and manufactured cotton products around the globe with COTTON USA trademark. CCI has 60 years of experience promoting U.S. cotton fiber and products to trade and consumers. CCI works with spinning mills, fabric and garment manufacturers, brands, retailers, textile associations, governments and the USDA to facilitate the use of U.S. cotton. Bangladesh has been a very potential market for US Cotton. They organize different seminars and symposium to showcase their recent development and technical knowledge sharing. Recently Cotton USA organized a seminar on ‘U.S. Cotton and the Golden Triangle of Spinning Profitability’ in the capital’s Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden Hotel.
The USA ambassador to Bangladesh Peter D. Haas; Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), high officials from BGMEA, Cotton USA, US Cotton Trust Protocol members and prominent spinning industry experts were present in this knowledge sharing technical seminar.
At the event, Peter D Haas, the newly-appointed US ambassador to Bangladesh expressed his warm wishes for Bangladesh as he mentioned there is a very cordial friendship relation between Bangladesh & USA and he looks forward for more cooperation. D. Haas said, “We have a very good relationship with Bangladesh and will work on converting it into a great relationship. Bangladesh has already passed its glorious 50 years of journey and is a proven partner for many businesses, especially in the field of textile and apparel.”
BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon infromed that Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton from the international market, of which 11% was from the US in the last financial year. He added, around 2.5 million spindles will be added in the primary textile sector in the next few years, which means the import of cotton from international markets including U.S. cotton will be significantly increased then. Mr. Khokon mentioned that textile millers in Bangladesh have called for introducing direct vessel operations between the Chattogram Port and the USA to reduce the time and cost of cotton imports. BTMA President also highlighted the time-consuming process of compulsory fumigation at Chattogram port in the import of cotton from the US. He added, BTMA is working on this issue and requested US ambassador to support in this matter. He said the withdrawal of fumigation will also increase the use of US cotton in Bangladesh.
The seminar was started with the welcome note from Mr. Ali Arsalan, Consultant and Country Representative (Bangladesh) of Cotton Council International (CCI). Mr. Arsalan thanked all the millers of different mills and reminded all the Cotton USA Licensees and US Trust Protocol Members that the Cotton USA Solutions Team is available to visit factories for any issues at their mills – from Bale Management to Processing.
William R. Bettendorf, Regional Director, Supply Chain Marketing (South & Southeast Asia), CCI shared current activities and initiatives of CCI for the industry. He mentioned, “Bangladesh is one of the best markets for us, that’s why we are here. I think the future of Bangladesh textiles is very prospective. It has become much more sophisticated than in the past. The mills are now in a profitable situation so they will invest more in better technology and systems to compete with global standards, I believe.”
In the seminar CCI experts and representatives presented different presentations:
