Ibrahim Kasita
8 January 2009
Kampala — A BLEAK market for organic cotton is making it hard to pay farmers high prices as promised, an official of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has said.
ICAC provides statistics on world cotton production, consumption, trade and stocks and serves as a clearing house for technical information about cotton and cotton textiles.
"Organic production practices are as complex as conventional production practices and require extensive research and training for successful implementation," the official explained.
"I am not trying to oppose organic cotton but we are trying to ensure that policy- makers understand that organic cotton requires a difficult set of production practices."
The expert added that organic cotton also requires higher prices to offset increased labour requirements and lower yields.
"Organic cotton is also proving to be difficult to market. Syria has a carryover from 2007/08 of 25,000 tonnes of certified organic cotton," the expert revealed.
"This cotton will overhang the market in 2008/09 and make it difficult to achieve price premiums for additional organic cotton."
The expert pointed out that the price crisis in cotton was a major concern for all governments worldwide.
"The rise in the value of the dollar has helped but the dollar is again showing signs of weaknesses against the euro," explained the expert.
"The general economic news remains weak, suggesting that consumer purchases will not improve at least for another year."
India is maintaining minimum support prices. China is imposing restrictions.
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