Tashkent, Uzbekistan — The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) kicked off its 82nd Plenary Meeting this morning in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with hundreds of attendees from all sectors of the cotton textile value chain in attendance for the Inaugural Session.
Dr Ibrokhim Y Abdurakhmonov, Minister of Agriculture, welcomed participants to Tashkent during his opening remarks; he was followed by HEM Ambassador Aly Toure, Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire to International Commodity Organizations in London and Chair of the ICAC Standing Committee. He congratulated the local Organizing Committee for its hard work in preparing for the event. Mr Toure pointed out that he had been working to encourage potential new Member governments to join the ICAC, particularly in Africa. He also noted that the ICAC Secretariat was assisting the government of Benin with the first-ever World Cotton Day celebration to be hosted by a country, and the first time it will be hosted in the Global South, on October 7, 2024.
Mr Eric Trachtenberg then delivered the report of the Executive Director. He acknowledged that cotton faces many challenges including price volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and climate change, but added that there are many reasons for optimism: cotton’s ability to alleviate poverty, empower women, biodegrade, and sequester carbon to fight climate change. He promised that the ICAC would continue improving in its traditional areas of emphasis — producing world-class data and publications, engaging with the public sector, and working with industry stakeholders to explore potential new conferences — but also to find new ways to have a positive impact on the global cotton industry. Those efforts include cotton agriculture development, engaging more deeply with the textile value chain, and working with partners to promote and protect natural fibers. He welcomed the government of Benin back to the ICAC, expressed his gratitude to the local Organizing Committee in Tashkent for its hard work, and thanked all ICAC Delegations and other participants for making the trip to Uzbekistan.
There were two winners of the ICAC Researcher of the Year award in 2024 and both were recognized: Dr David Fang, Supervisory Research Geneticist and Research Leader of Cotton Fiber Bioscience & Utilization Research at USDA; and Dr Keerti Rathore, Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Texas A&M University. Both expressed their gratitude to the ICAC for its support of their research.
The heads of ICAC Panels and Committees — the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), the Expert Panel on Social, Environmental, and Economic Performance of Cotton Production (SEEP), the Committee for the Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC), and the International Cotton Researchers Association (ICRA) — each delivered brief updates on their activities during the prior year.
The 82nd Plenary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has the theme, “Global Partnerships to Promote Innovation in the Cotton and Textile Value Chains.” Scheduled for September 30 to October 3, 2024, at the International Hotel in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the conference will be followed by several Technical Tours of Uzbekistan’s cotton and textile industries.
