CCI Sourcing Summit Draws Global Buyers

As we closed out our reports on Friday night, the following press release arrived from the National Cotton Council:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - One of the largest ever contingents of global cotton purchasing power convened here this week to attend the 2006 Sourcing USA Summit.

The event is coordinated by Cotton Council International (CCI), the National Cotton Council’s export promotion arm. Held Nov. 16-19 under a theme of “Strengthening Enduring Partnerships,” the event was organized to provide textile mill executives with management/trend information and networking opportunities that can drive their cotton businesses forward.

The Summit attracted some 190 international cotton buyers from 28 countries. Data collected by the NCC on 72 percent of those buyers revealed that group’s total cotton consumption to be about 18.4 million bales.

“To put that into perspective, the cotton consumption of less than three-fourths of the expected Summit participants represents 6.2 million bales more than were represented by all participants at CCI’s 2004 Summit,” said NCC Chairman Allen Helms. “This same group also consumes about 8.8 million bales of U.S. cotton - and are customers of some 55 percent of expected 2006 U.S. cotton exports.”

The data also shows that 28 percent (of the 72 percent of participants data were available on) are vertically integrated organizations -- they spin, knit and/or weave and participate in apparel production and/or retail activities. Those 29 percent account for 92 percent of all the U.S. cotton consumption represented at the Summit.

“This group of global cotton buyers represents a huge opportunity,” said CCI President David Burns, a Laurel Hill, N.C., cotton producer. “The Summit provides a forum where we can detail U.S. cotton’s unique attributes and its superior technical services to these important international customers. U.S. cotton needs this exposure because our industry is exporting significantly more raw fiber than it did at the turn of the century.”

That’s reflected in the data. NCC economists said the 2005-06 marketing year was the fifth consecutive of record high U.S. raw cotton exports. In fact, 2005-06 exports increased by almost 25 percent over the 2004-05 volume.

The Summit was successful in offering the attendees help with textile market sourcing challenges. Presentations ranged from economics, innovation and consumer marketing to the challenges and opportunities facing the global cotton complex.
The overseas mill executives also visited U.S. cotton farms, gins and other facilities en route to or after attending the Summit.

“These tours reinforce what the participants hear at the Summit and solidify relationships between U.S. industry members and the key customers they supply,” Burns noted.