News
‘Cotton: Review of the World Situation’ Addresses Gender Equity, China’s Vision, and Garment Weight
Date Posted: 21 June, 2019
Executive Summary
Highlights from the June
2019 ‘Review’ include:
- The need
for gender-specific perspectives at the earliest stages of agricultural
policy-making to empower women (especially in less-developed countries).
- The
powerful impact that the decrease in average garment weight over the last
20 years and the effect it has had on cotton demand.
- How China’s massive Belt & Road
Initiative could remake the global economy and the specific changes it
could bring to the international cotton and textile industries.
- A cotton market overview that points out
how trade tensions and rising global stocks are adding uncertainty to the
marketplace.
‘Cotton:
Review of the World Situation’ Addresses Gender Equity, China’s Vision, and
Garment Weight
The June 2019 ‘Cotton: Review of the World
Situation’ contains four articles that address a wide array of topics,
including:
Gender Equality: Authored by Dr. Amal Saber Owis, former Director
of Egypt’s Cotton Research Institute, this article makes the case that women’s
economic empowerment is a prerequisite for sustainable development and poverty
alleviation, and that gender-specific perspectives must be integrated at the
design stage of agricultural policy and programming.
Changes
in Garment Weight: Cotton Incorporated’s Senior Economist Jon
Devine presents a wealth of data showing that one of the lesser-understood
shocks the cotton industry has faced in recent years is the decrease in average
garment weight. It has been a challenge for consumption
growth in the past, although recent market stabilisation and gentle increases
in average weight may be positive signs for cotton demand in the future.
China’s Belt & Road
Initiative: ICAC Director of Trade Analysis Andrei
Guitchounts provides an overview of China’s 2013 economic program, the Belt
& Road Initiative (BRI). The ambitious plan would have a major
impact on trade flows and could go a long way toward improving infrastructure
and logistics in the countries where it is implemented.
Trade Tensions and Rising
Stocks: The cotton market faces continued uncertainty
due to the escalating US-China trade war, with prices under additional pressure
due to a projected increase in global stocks. Prices have suffered
from the escalating tariffs, dropping to a season-low of 76 cents per pound on
May 14th.
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About the
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Formed in 1939, the ICAC is an association of cotton producing,
consuming and trading countries. It acts as a catalyst for change by helping
member countries maintain a healthy world cotton economy; provides transparency
to the world cotton market by serving as a clearinghouse for technical
information on cotton production; and serves as a forum for discussing cotton
issues of international significance. The ICAC does not have a role in setting
market prices or in intervening in market mechanisms. For more information,
please visit www.icac.org.