Task Force on Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton

The Task Force on Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) was created after the 62nd Plenary Meeting of the ICAC in 2003. Creation of the panel occurred after several years of discussion. During the 61st Plenary Meeting in Cairo in 2002, representatives of producers and consumers agreed that the cotton industry needs to move forward in the adoption of instrument based quality evaluation systems, and during the 62nd Plenary Meeting in Gdansk representatives of merchants and spinners agreed that an international agreement on the use of instrument based quality evaluation systems is needed to standardize quality test results. In the Statement of the 62nd Plenary Meeting, the Committee instructed the Secretariat to form an Expert Panel on Instrument Testing of Cotton to explore how best to establish an International Agreement on Instrument Based Cotton Classing to ensure that test results are uniform in all classing laboratories.

Membership

Membership in the Task Force reflects the geographic diversity of cotton production, consumption and trade and includes representatives of all segments of the industry, including researchers, shippers, producers, spinners and controllers.

Terms of Reference

The instruction to the Task Force from the 62nd Plenary Meeting is to explore how best to establish an International Agreement on Instrument Based Cotton Classing to ensure that test results are uniform, and the Panel will determine how best this instruction can be accomplished.

As it proceeds with its work, the Panel may formulate recommendations on how countries can improve their instrument based testing facilities. The Panel may develop recommendations to encourage increased international trade in cotton based on instrument based classification systems, and the Panel may formulate recommendations on how best to encourage more countries to adopt instrument based classification systems. The Panel may discuss alternative instruments and ways the international community can encourage adoption of the latest technology available.

Schedule of Work and Procedures

The Task Force on Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton conducts its business primarily via email. The Task Force meets twice each year: at the ICAC plenary meeting and at one interim location. Consistent with established procedure within the ICAC, decisions of the Task Force are made by consensus. All costs associated with participation in the work of the Expert Panel are the responsibility of panel members.
As of September 2011 there have been sixteen meetings of the CSITC. The seventeenth meeting is scheduled for March 21, 2012 in Bremen, Germany.


List of the Task Force members
CSITC-TF-membership_2013-10.pdf