ICAC to discuss emergent challenges in cotton value chain

The 72nd Plenary Meeting will be held in Cartagena, Colombia, during September 29 to October 4, 2013. The venue of the meeting will be the Hilton Hotel.

The agenda is focused on meeting the challenges of interfiber competition, improving productivity and efficiency, encouraging new investment, the impacts of regional trade agreements and shifts in the location of textile production.

ICAC meetings are highly interactive, and the 72nd Plenary Meeting will include a World Café on Tuesday morning, followed by a follow-up concluding World Café session on Wednesday. The agenda also includes regional caucus meetings on Friday morning.

The agenda including an interesting mix of sessions on traditional cotton industry topics such as supply and demand and competition with other fibers, as well as sessions on non-traditional subjects such as extreme weather, women in agriculture and the impacts of land tenure on productivity.

In addition, meetings of the world task force on instrument testing, an expert panel on social, environmental and economic performance of cotton production, the Private Sector Advisory Panel, the Round Table on Biotechnology in Cotton, the International Forum for Cotton Promotion and task forces on identity cottons and competitive fibers are interwoven into the agenda of the plenary meeting.

Approximately 400 people are likely to participate in the meeting. Traditionally, about two-thirds of participants are from the private sector and one-third from government, although government officials head all delegations.

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)