Dubai 2011: World cotton event is a major success

26 Mar '11

3 min read

The event - Dubai 2011, which was the first cotton conference of its kind to be held in Dubai, took place on March 15/16 at the Ritz Carlton Dubai International Financial Centre under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Sponsored by some of the biggest names in cotton, the theme of the two-day event was "Open to the World". Its aim was to provide a new opportunity and a new location for the global cotton community to come together to network, to do business and to debate the important issues affecting the industry.

Speaking after the event, International Cotton Association (ICA) President, Ray Butler said: "We knew Dubai would be a popular location to stage the event and it was. It is a global business hub and easily accessible, especially to the Asian market. We recognise that Asia is the focal point of the raw cotton trade and staging the event here has attracted a wide participation from Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and beyond. The event definitely lived up to its name - Open to the World - and initial feedback from delegates has been extremely positive."

For many delegates the true value in attending Dubai 2011 was the chance to network and develop new trade opportunities, as well as hearing about the cotton market from industry experts. "This event took place at the right time and in the right location," said Christian Schindler, Director General, ITMF. "The setting was great and the organisation was outstanding - a great success for the ICA," added Jean Marc Derossis, UK Managing Director and Trader at Plexus Cotton.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) and one of the event sponsors, provided the key note address. In his speech he explained how Dubai has developed to be one of the leading gateways for international commodity markets and, after the event, he said: "ICA Dubai 2011 was a great success and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to showcase Dubai to the many distinguished delegates."

Over the course of the two days, 10 high profile industry speakers took to the stage to deliver a range of presentations focusing on some of the key issues affecting today's cotton industry - from price volatility and the global trading market to new initiatives in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and China. There were also plenty of opportunities for delegates to network at a cocktail reception and gala dinner.

Ray concludes: "We were honoured that His Highness was able to join our opening session and we want to pass on our sincere thanks to the event sponsors, to the presenters and to all the delegates for making this event such a big success. Our next event is the annual ICA International Trade Dinner, which is taking place in Liverpool, UK on 21/22 October 2011. I hope you can join us."

International Cotton Association (ICA)

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