Eleven key executives, from eleven different textile mills in Bangladesh, traveled to the United States as part of the COTTON USA Special Trade Mission, which toured the U.S. Cotton Belt. The trip was an opportunity for them to learn more about why U.S. cotton is the world’s preferred fiber. During the trip they observed U.S. cotton production, processing and marketing and met with U.S. cotton exporters for the purpose of increasing their purchasing of U.S. cotton.
The Bangladesh delegation began its tour in New York City with a seminar at ICE Futures. They then traveled to the Cotton Belt’s four major growing regions and met with members of industry organizations including: Cotton Incorporated, the National Cotton Council, USDA, Supima, as well as merchants and coops. They also had the opportunity to learn about U.S. cotton production while visiting a local cotton farm in Lubbock, TX.
Bangladesh is currently the world’s largest importer of cotton, importing 6.2 million bales of cotton in 2015/16. According to Mr. Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury, managing director of Argon Spinning LTD, Bangladesh will continue to play an important role in the global cotton industry, and he projects Bangladesh will import 11 million bales of cotton by 2021. Bangladesh currently stands as U.S. cotton’s ninth largest market – with U.S. export commitments there at more than half a million bales thus far in the 2016-17 marketing year.