Event promotes dialogue, understanding throughout cotton value chain

The world of cotton just got a little smaller.

At the third annual Certified FiberMax Cotton® Quality Summit, U.S. producers, ginners and international merchants met with Asian textile and global apparel representatives in a forum that highlighted the growing demand for fiber quality throughout the cotton value chain. The Summit, which took place June 28-29 in Singapore, also focused on the role Certified FiberMax Cotton is playing in addressing that opportunity.

“As cotton farmers in the United States, we grow FiberMax cotton with good qualities so that you can make the quality products that you need for your customers,” said Roger Haldenby, vice president of operations for Lubbock, Texas-based Plains Cotton Growers, addressing the audience in Vietnamese. “We have a relationship in business. And on the quality side with FiberMax, we have become friends. I hope we can build our business together. I hope we can build our future on friendship.”

In the three years that Bayer CropScience has sponsored the Summit, representatives of more than 120 of the largest spinning mills in Asia have had an opportunity to see how access to a consistent, verified supply of FiberMax quality cotton can result in improved spinning efficiencies and profitability.

“The awareness of the FiberMax brand continues to grow,” cotton merchant Richard Knowles, president of Matador, Texas-based Knowles-Taylor Cotton Company told attendees at the meeting, adding that mills all over the world request Certified FiberMax Cotton®.

“This has been due to two major factors,” Knowles continued. “First, the fiber speaks for itself. It has fiber qualities that enable it to spin better. And second, Bayer and certain cotton merchants have continued to promote FiberMax at programs such as this Summit, in presentations around the world and at various cotton industry functions. As a result, FiberMax cotton has been sold in all major importing countries and is now becoming very sought after in our biggest market – China.”

Brad Beal, executive vice president of manufacturing and operations with Jockey International in Kenosha, Wis., noted that the quality characteristics of FiberMax cotton offer apparel manufacturers and retailers a way to deliver an economical product that meets the industry’s demands for a superior product.

Jockey, the largest combed cotton consumer in the United States for net goods, must meet rigid quality standards to satisfy the demands of retailers and customers throughout the world.

“Because of escalating prices in the marketplace for raw materials, we did an in-depth analysis a few years ago working with Cotton Incorporated to come up with how we could engineer the performance criteria for the yarn we use in our products,” Beal said. “We were able to engineer criteria that met our customers’ expectations by using FiberMax instead of the

California grade cottons we had always used. We were able to meet the price points of our retail customers and hold our profit. And because of doing it, we were able to save accounts.”

The Certified FiberMax Cotton program was introduced in 2002 with the goal of branding the superior fiber quality characteristics of FiberMax cotton and generating demand creation, said Monty Christian, U.S. market manager, Certified FiberMax.

Events such as the Certified FiberMax Cotton Quality Summit in Singapore help educate the spinning community about the program and the value FiberMax quality cotton can provide to the textile mill.

“The program helps ensure that when merchants and spinners around the world order Certified FiberMax cotton, then Certified FiberMax is delivered,” Christian said. “We believe the industry should ask for Certified FiberMax first, followed by the cotton characteristics desired.”

Each year U.S. cotton growers register Certified FiberMax cotton onto www.CertifiedFiberMax.com where merchants and spinners can then track individual bales. The program is now expanding into other cotton producing countries, with growers in Greece, Brazil and Spain helping to ensure the availability of a consistent, adequate supply of Certified FiberMax cotton.

Bob Antoshak, president of Globecot, an electronic news subscription service devoted to the fiber and textile industry, said a Cotton Board survey conducted with more than 100 spinners worldwide indicated it will be necessary to place more emphasis on cotton quality as the Asian textile industry expands.  

Spinners surveyed indicated their needs will include:

• Longer staple length

• Better color, lower contamination

• Improved inspection procedures

• Better delivery

• Transparent business interactions

Citing quality as a main deterrent to buying more U.S. cotton, a majority of the spinners surveyed said they would buy more U.S. cotton if they could be assured of improved quality and were more familiar with U.S. cotton varieties.

By increasing global awareness of the benefits of Certified FiberMax cotton, Christian said the Cotton Quality Summit benefits the U.S. cotton producer by helping drive increased demand for high quality U.S. cotton.

“It also encourages U.S. cotton farmers to produce a branded product that is of more value to the international spinner,” Christian said.

Eddie Adams, co-owner and general manager, Adams Fertilizer in  Senath, Mo., attended the Cotton Quality Summit and said farmers continue to benefit from growing FiberMax cotton with both quality and yields.

He said preserving the FiberMax brand identity is important and the increasing awareness and demand for FiberMax cotton can help producers realize a significant premium for their high quality cotton.

Knowles added that the number of U.S. cotton producers who care about producing quality cotton rather than concentrating on “yield, yield and yield” is increasing each year. “What we must do is ensure that these producers are receiving value for the extra investment in their crop and prove to them that quality does pay.”

He said he and other merchants are participating in regional pilot programs with the goal of securing a supply of high quality, branded Certified FiberMax cotton. These pilot programs involve working with “progressive farmers and ginners who are really proud of their cotton” to better merchandize their efforts with targeted customers potentially willing to pay more for a premium product.

“Looking to the future, I believe this meeting is a wonderful example of how the different segments of the industry can come together for the mutual benefit for all concerned,” Knowles said. “Bayer CropScience is not resting on its laurels. It continues to work on new, experimental varieties that will offer buyers longer, stronger cotton than they are seeing now. These fibers will require a fresh, new approach to marketing, and the Certified FiberMax program is paving the way for that future.”

Bayer CropScience LP is the U.S. business of Bayer CropScience, which has its global headquarters in Monheim, Germany. Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6 billion, is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of about 19,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries, ensuring proximity to dealers and consumers.

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