COMMERCIAL STANDARDISATION OF INSTRUMENT TESTING OF COTTON
FOR THE COTTON PRODUCING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN AFRICA
Project Executing Agency..........Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. (FIBRE), Germany
Countries.................................West Africa (including Central Africa), represented by Mali/Burkina Faso
..............................................East Africa (including Southern Africa), represented by Tanzania
..............................................Germany, France
Duration...................................4 years
Start Date................................December 2007
Financing sought from the European Commission................EUR 2,585,821
Financing sought from the Common Fund for Commodities...USD 2,034,697
Counterpart contributions................................................EUR 2,297,465
Project Background
The industry demands for objective and reliable cotton fibre test results are increasing rapidly, and major cotton importing countries are integrating instrument based data in trade. Cotton with insufficient verification of its quality will result in price discounts for the producers or exclusion from the market. Only a worldwide harmonised control and testing system can favour a frictionless business for all participants in the whole commercial chain.
Developed cotton growing countries, like the USA, have already built up their national cotton quality assessment systems and instrumental classification has resulted in a competitive advantage for the USA in global marketing. It is obvious that the establishment of an adequate instrumental cotton testing system based on high volume instruments for the cotton producing countries in Africa and elsewhere would facilitate the access of their cotton to diverse global markets. But, up to now, there is no adequate international verification over the world of other test laboratories and of their results. The availability of high volume cotton testing instruments solely is not satisfactory to produce reliable test values - examples from all over the world show that, without certified testing procedures, the results will be disregarded and therefore are worthless. The results have to be reliable and at an internationally agreed level. Cotton producing developing countries will be disadvantaged in their market position, if they do not manage to participate in an international quality assessment system.
For the purpose of achieving reliable instrumental test results for the global cotton trade, the ICAC-CSITC Task Force (Commercial Standardisation of Instrument Testing of Cotton) brought together representatives of spinning mills, traders, cotton producers and research. The objective of this CFC project (which is based on the recommendations and conclusions of the ICAC CSITC meeting in Mumbai on November 28th, 2004) is to assist the cotton producing countries, especially the developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to meet the emerging quality assessment demands of the global cotton market so as to strengthen or at least maintain their competitive position in the world market by keeping up with modern developments from the end-markets. Therefore, it is essential to enable these countries to supply their cotton with objective and reliable instrument-based quality information, based on internationally accepted test rules and procedures.
Project Objectives
The aim of the project is to improve the integrity of worldwide cotton trade by establishing a reliable system of instrumental cotton characterisation, adoptable by all cotton producing countries, especially developing countries. Therefore, the following measures have to be achieved:
* Introduction of a worldwide acceptable, adoptable and reliable instrument based cotton quality assessment having defined test rules and being based on a worldwide cotton testing laboratory certification system.
* Support to African laboratories, so that they will be able to fulfill the international requirements for reliable instrument testing of cotton. This will be done mainly by the establishment of Regional Technical Centres (RTCs) for providing the necessary assistance for the application of instrument testing in cotton testing laboratories. Especially education and expertise will be essential for a successful setting-up of a network of well harmonised laboratories to satisfy the cotton testing demands.
For more details about the project, browse:
Project_Summary.pdf
Resume_du_projet.pdf
FOR THE COTTON PRODUCING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN AFRICA
Project Executing Agency..........Faserinstitut Bremen e.V. (FIBRE), Germany
Countries.................................West Africa (including Central Africa), represented by Mali/Burkina Faso
..............................................East Africa (including Southern Africa), represented by Tanzania
..............................................Germany, France
Duration...................................4 years
Start Date................................December 2007
Financing sought from the European Commission................EUR 2,585,821
Financing sought from the Common Fund for Commodities...USD 2,034,697
Counterpart contributions................................................EUR 2,297,465
Project Background
The industry demands for objective and reliable cotton fibre test results are increasing rapidly, and major cotton importing countries are integrating instrument based data in trade. Cotton with insufficient verification of its quality will result in price discounts for the producers or exclusion from the market. Only a worldwide harmonised control and testing system can favour a frictionless business for all participants in the whole commercial chain.
Developed cotton growing countries, like the USA, have already built up their national cotton quality assessment systems and instrumental classification has resulted in a competitive advantage for the USA in global marketing. It is obvious that the establishment of an adequate instrumental cotton testing system based on high volume instruments for the cotton producing countries in Africa and elsewhere would facilitate the access of their cotton to diverse global markets. But, up to now, there is no adequate international verification over the world of other test laboratories and of their results. The availability of high volume cotton testing instruments solely is not satisfactory to produce reliable test values - examples from all over the world show that, without certified testing procedures, the results will be disregarded and therefore are worthless. The results have to be reliable and at an internationally agreed level. Cotton producing developing countries will be disadvantaged in their market position, if they do not manage to participate in an international quality assessment system.
For the purpose of achieving reliable instrumental test results for the global cotton trade, the ICAC-CSITC Task Force (Commercial Standardisation of Instrument Testing of Cotton) brought together representatives of spinning mills, traders, cotton producers and research. The objective of this CFC project (which is based on the recommendations and conclusions of the ICAC CSITC meeting in Mumbai on November 28th, 2004) is to assist the cotton producing countries, especially the developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), to meet the emerging quality assessment demands of the global cotton market so as to strengthen or at least maintain their competitive position in the world market by keeping up with modern developments from the end-markets. Therefore, it is essential to enable these countries to supply their cotton with objective and reliable instrument-based quality information, based on internationally accepted test rules and procedures.
Project Objectives
The aim of the project is to improve the integrity of worldwide cotton trade by establishing a reliable system of instrumental cotton characterisation, adoptable by all cotton producing countries, especially developing countries. Therefore, the following measures have to be achieved:
* Introduction of a worldwide acceptable, adoptable and reliable instrument based cotton quality assessment having defined test rules and being based on a worldwide cotton testing laboratory certification system.
* Support to African laboratories, so that they will be able to fulfill the international requirements for reliable instrument testing of cotton. This will be done mainly by the establishment of Regional Technical Centres (RTCs) for providing the necessary assistance for the application of instrument testing in cotton testing laboratories. Especially education and expertise will be essential for a successful setting-up of a network of well harmonised laboratories to satisfy the cotton testing demands.
For more details about the project, browse:
Project_Summary.pdf
Resume_du_projet.pdf
