Marcelo Duarte
Director of International Relations ABRAPA
Brazilian farmers are committed to sustainability of cotton growing
ABRAPA, the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association, was created in 1999 with the purpose of guaranteeing and increasing the profitability of the sector through the union and organisation of its agents and seeking strategic sustainability, acting politically, socially and economically with the public and private sectors, promoting the expansion and improvement of production. Practicing results-based management, from the beginning, the Association made a commitment to make Brazilian cotton culture increasingly known and competitive, both on the national and international scene. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, ABRAPA’s Director of International Relations Marcelo Duarte discusses Brazil’s cotton production and its export markets.
What is the size of the Brazilian cotton industry?
As of now, Brazil is the second-largest exporter in the market and the fourth-largest cotton producer globally and this can be largely attributed to its high standards of testing and regulations ensuring that Brazilian cotton is highly traceable, contamination-free, and of high quality.
With regards to the markets with the highest demand for Brazilian cotton, China is the biggest buyer of Brazilian cotton in terms of volume with 721,000 tonnes of cotton during the 2020/2021 season, followed by Vietnam, Turkey and Pakistan.
What is the annual cotton production in Brazil?
The annual cotton production in Brazil depends on external and natural factors such as soil and weather conditions of the planted area, market prices and supply costs. The production during the 2020/2021 season was 2.359 million tonnes, and the forecast for the 2021/2022 crop is 2.6 million tonnes. From this production volume, 2.04 million tonnes will be exported, and the remaining will be consumed by the domestic industry.
Which are the major cotton producing regions in Brazil?
The state of Mato Grosso is responsible for 69 per cent of the Brazilian cotton production, while the Bahia state accounts for 18 per cent, São Paulo for 5 per cent and Goiás for 2 per cent. Cotton is also grown in eight other Brazilian states, and 90 per cent of the production is located in the “cerrado” biome.
Which cotton varieties of Brazil are in demand?
The market is currently demanding longer staples (length), higher uniformity and micronaire. After 20 years of investments in research and development through partnerships with universities and research institutes, Brazil has developed perfectly adapted varieties according to different regions, soil and weather conditions, which are able to deliver high yields and quality characteristics suitable for the market.
What percentage of total cotton produced in Brazil is for domestic market and what is for exports?
Between 70 to 75 per cent of Brazilian cotton is exported, while domestic consumption accounts for 25 to 30 per cent of production.
Which are the major export markets for Brazil?
Our key Asian markets are China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, and Indonesia.
To encourage Asian merchants, weavers, and manufacturers to use sustainable cotton, we plan to form more strategic partnerships and further drive our market shares in our key Asian markets. As we anticipate Asia’s fashion industry to continue growing, we are planning to increase our cotton production capacity.
We are on track to achieve these goals. In 2021/22 season, Brazil has already shipped 1.58 million tonnes from August 2021 to April 2022. In the next cycle, we can project shipments to amount to 1.74 million tonnes.
What kinds of activities does the association deals in to promote cotton production?
Our mission is to transform the region’s textile industry by promoting the use of natural fibres, especially Brazilian cotton, and what we can offer in terms of quality, sustainability, and traceability. In doing so, we strengthen our network in Asia by forging strong relationships with local merchants, partners and traders to educate and provide alternatives that meet their needs.
As travel restrictions have lifted, we have resumed plans to host in-person events across our key markets to engage with our partners and share the development and growth of the Cotton Brazil project. For example, we have an upcoming Sellers Mission in Indonesia and Vietnam, and such events will enable us to forge stronger partnerships with companies across the industry value chain, from our local merchants and traders to trade and textile associations. Through these engagements, we can promote the use of natural fibres, especially cotton, across different countries.
To make Brazilian Cotton accessible to the region, we have also opened an administrative office in Singapore acting as a logistics hub from where our team can easily address textile industries in our main markets.
Brazilian cotton is sold and distributed by partner trading companies, specialised in delivering cotton to countries in Asia.
What percentage of organic cotton is grown in Brazil?
Since Brazil is a tropical country and subject to several pests and diseases due to weather conditions, organic cotton is grown on a very small scale. In the 2019/2020 season, 134 tonnes of organic cotton was produced by 1,894 families. However, Brazilian farmers are committed to the sustainability of cotton growing, especially regarding the use of resources such as chemicals. Production runs under the Integrated Disease Management protocol, using best agricultural practices to reduce the use of pesticides. Moreover, biological control use is increasing, and results are encouraging.
What kind of activities and agendas are in focus at the association?
Through our international market development programme, Cotton Brazil, we aim to raise awareness for Brazilian cotton amongst Asian garment makers, spinners, weavers and merchants, and provide them with cotton that is of high quality, sustainable and traceable.
For two decades, ABRAPA and its state associates invested in research and development, along with universities and research Institutes, to improve the quality of Brazilian cotton according to the global industries’ demands. However, we understand that there’s still room for improvement and Brazilian cotton growers will continue to make efforts to meet buyers’ quality requirements.
Moreover, this quality is measured by the SBRHVI (Standard Brazil HVI), the Brazilian Cotton Quality Control programme, created in 2016. The programme standardises the instrumental classification of cotton by training, guiding, and monitoring a network of 11 classing labs located in the main growing regions and supervised by the Brazilian Cotton Testing Reference Center – a central lab for quality control.
100 per cent of bales are HVI-tested, and the data reliability grows with each season, reaching 97 per cent on the 2021/2022 cycle. The SBRHVI provides buyers with HVI classification data for more than 80 per cent of Brazilian cotton production on a bale-by-bale basis.
ABRAPA’s quality and sustainability efforts are applied to Brazilian cotton fields, taking into account their specific conditions such as climate, soil, etc. Furthermore, Brazilian cotton is traceable, helping ensure reliable and transparent information of the origin for the textile sector.
Published on: 28/07/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
