ICAC meeting held in Cape Town
A good turnout is expected for the 68thInternational Cotton Advisory Committee, plenary meeting which will be held September 7-11 in Cape Town, South Africa. The theme will be ‘The role of cotton in economic development and ensuring food security during a period of global economic crisis’.
Topics during plenary and open sessions will include: positioning cotton as a solution to global problems; policies to enhance food security; the role of bt cotton; government responses when agricultural prices are below the cost of production; facilitating small-holder cotton production; stakeholder relations to move cotton forward; government policies to ensure that cotton production is viable; cottonseed and value addition; outlook for supply, demand and prices of cotton and inputs; overcoming impediments to progress in multilateral trade negotiations; a technical seminar on ‘biosafety regulations, implementation and consumer acceptance”; and the impact of social and environmental standards on demand for cotton and textiles.
The following topics will be discussed during breakout and roundtable sessions: the role of organic cotton in the cotton industry; best practices in instrument testing; progress toward harmonisation of trade rules; the impacts of carbon trading on the cotton industry; enhancing demand for cotton products; best practices in cotton ginning; and the role of organisations in the cotton economy.
