Reg. No. 2037/02 - A Quarterly Cotton Magazine - Volume 4 - Issue 4 - October 2004
Editor-in-Chief
Quamrul Ahsan, Ph.D
Editor
Sagar Lohani
Assistant Editor
Saad Farooq Chowdhury
Advisory Board
Abdul Hannan
Christina M. Rozario
Daniel Post
Dr. Muzaffer Ahmad
Meer Tabarrak Husain
Sultan Ahmed
Zafrul Karim
Circulation
Monjur Rahman
Administration
Golam Hossain
Advertisement
Moti Lal Saha
Graphics Design
S. C. Banik
Computer Graphics
Moniruzzaman Monir
Photography
Mohammad Younus
Aminur Rahman Azam
Service Agent
Cotech, Inc.
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Tuxedo Park, NY 10987, USA
Tel.: 845 753 6844 Fax: 845 753 6841
E-mail:
Publisher
Mahmudul Ahsan
Cotton Bangladesh
416 Road No. 30, New DOHS
Dhaka 1206, Bangladesh
Tel.: 880 2 885 0927, 989 1534
Fax: 880 2 989 1527
E-mail:
Printed in Bangladesh by
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Bangladesh Cotton and Textile Convention 2004, Dhaka
Cotton Bangladesh and GLOBECOT, an US cotton research organization, are organizing
The Bangladesh Cotton and Textile Convention on October 13, 2004 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme of the Convention is 2005….MARKET TURMOIL…. are we ready?
FiberMax Quality Summit Held in Singapore
With a successful year under its belt, Bayer CropScience hosted the Certified FiberMax®
Quality Summit 2004 in Singapore this summer bringing together most of the world's leading experts on cotton and cotton quality.
An interview with the BGMEA president
Annisul Huq, the current president of BGMEA is Chairman of Mohammadi Group, a leading conglomerate of RMG factories, and Technovista, a top software exporting company in Bangladesh, which also caters to the local market.
LCA Annual Trade Dinner and Conference 2004
The LCA Annual Dinner and Conference 2004 will be held from October 6 to 8, 2004. The annual dinner will be held at St George's Hall, Liverpool on Friday, 8 October 2004.
The LCA Trade Dinner represents one of the premier events in the International Cotton Calendar.
Cargill Cotton A renowned name to Global Spinners
Cargill has a long, rich history, starting with William-Wallace Cargill's first grain storage
facility on the American frontier in 1865. The company has grown to become an international, privately owned business providing food, agricultural and risk management products and services around the globe.
Editor-in-Chief's Column
We are glad to announce that Cotton Bangladesh, jointly with GLOBECOT will organize the Bangladesh Cotton & Textile Convention on October 13, 2004. The objective of holding such an international convention, for the first time in Bangladesh, is to sensitize the relevant stakeholders on issues and concerns that have relevance to the entire range of the textile sector of the country. Like many others, we are concerned about the post MFA era and the uncertainty that could create. On the other hand, we are confident that Bangladesh textile entrepreneurs would be able to face this challenge most effectively. However, it requires careful reflection, modification and clarification of existing regulations and reexamination of their position to create new markets. It is of utmost importance that relevant issues are discussed among concerned stakeholders. We are making an effort to create that platform for discussion. We hope that the discussions during the Cotton & Textile Convention 2004, will pave the way to changes that will benefit the overall Textile sector of Bangladesh.
We are also pleased to announce that Cotton Bangladesh will organize similar conventions regularly to discuss pressing issues related to the Textile sector.
Conference News
Bangladesh Cotton and Textile Convention 2004, DHAKA
2005….MARKET TURMOIL…. are we ready?
January 1, 2005 will not only usher in a new year but also a new world for business in Bangladesh. It is said that the only constant in the world is change itself. Normally change is healthy and part of the natural order of things, but the kind of change we are likely to experience in the world of textile next year, could shake the very foundation of Bangladesh's econ-omy. Market turmoil could quickly become economic turmoil.
There are certain market forces that could be and most likely will be set in motion unless there is a surprise last minute turnaround by the WTO. Come the morning of January 1, will Bangladesh wake up in a new world with-out QUOTAS? The following questions now loom before various stakeholders of the textile industry of Bangladesh. Will there be turmoil in the textile markets…how bad? Is there a last minute solution to save the industry? This years Cotton Market crash-will it be repeated in 2005? What sort of Risk Manage-ment plan is being drawn for cotton procurement? What kind of survival strategy is being adopted? Where will the markets be after 2005? How to deal with the old customers? What will be the demand in future? Who would be the new competitors?
In an attempt to find answers to these questions and also to create a platform for discussion, Cotton Bangladesh and GLOBECOT, an US cotton research organization, are organizing The Bangladesh Cotton and Textile Convention on October 13, 2004 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The theme of the Convention is 2005….MARKET TURMOIL…. are we ready? Well known Bangladeshi and international speakers will attempt to provide answers to the above questions and will offer concrete ideas and strategies, so that real solutions may be discussed. The Convention will be participated by stakeholders from home and abroad who will try to find solutions to some extremely difficult issues, like :
- Bangladesh's role in the global market the big picture;
- Alternatives to the WTO'S present course of action;
- What is in store for Bangladesh when quotas disappear;
- Risk Management for cotton procurement;
- Strategies essential for ensuring a future for the Bangladesh textile industry;
For registration and information concerning the Bangladesh Cotton and Textile Convention 2004, please visit www.cottonbangladesh.com/conference or contact the Convention Secretariat at
An Apex Body For Textile Sector
A Proposal
Two individual organizations, which are extremely important for the textile industry of the country, BGMEA and BTMA, recently attracted a lot of attention due to their positions regarding certain issues related to the textile industry. More than the outcome of the discussions, we were concerned about the process of the discussions. The organizations required external arbitration, intervention and finally government decision for issues that has relevance to their respective industries.
We wondered if the discussion process would have been smoother if these two organizations, before taking their firm stands, could discuss the nuts and bolts of this issue in detail among themselves? Perhaps it would have been possible if there were an apex organization to look after, negotiate or discuss the problems and opportunities of the textile industry that is earning majority of the foreign exchange of Bangladesh.
Unlike some other sectors, the different components of the textile sector, from production of cotton to final delivery of apparel, are more intertwined and interdependent. Although we find that there are some organizations looking after the interest of certain components of the sector, like BGMEA, BTMA, BKMEA; there isn't a common platform where these organizations can table their common concerns. It is axiomatic that the development of the textile sector of Bangladesh depends on the healthy growth of each component within the sector.
Therefore, we propose that the industry leaders consider developing an apex body that would be a platform where all the major organizations related to the textile industry of Bangladesh, could discuss issues of common interest. This apex body will have representatives from all related organizations, like Cotton Association, BGMEA, BTMA, BKMEA, BTTLMEA, etc. This platform will enable the organizations to discuss and develop concerted efforts on issues of common interest e.g. port facility, problems of customs, PSI problems, remittance of foreign exchange for import, Central Bonded Warehouse, etc.
There are some good examples of similar apex bodies working in Bangladesh and abroad. FBCCI in Bangladesh had proved itself to be a strong bargaining body trying to protect the interest of its member organizations. National Cotton Council of USA, which comprises of seven segments of American cotton industry; namely; cotton growers, cotton ginners, cotton warehouse providers, cotton merchants, cotton-spinning mills, seed cotton crushers and cotton cooperatives, is also a replicable example.
We strongly feel that an apex body comprising of representatives from all components of the textile sector could help create that necessary bonding among the organizations, which will help the sector to grow and thrive at its aspired potential. 1
Christina M . Rozario
Advisor
COTTON BANGLADESH
Abdul Wadud
Dy. Manager
SQUARE TEXTILES
Sagar Lohani
Editor
COTTON BANGLADESH
Quamrul Ahsan Ph.D
Editor-in-Chief
COTTON BANGLADESH
FiberMax Quality Summit held in Singapore
A Global Forum for Cotton Quality
Certified FiberMax Cotton Goes to Asia
By Beth Roden
With a successful year under its belt, Bayer CropScience hosted the Certified FiberMax® Quality Summit 2004 in Singapore this summer bringing together most of the world's leading experts on cotton and cotton quality. This summit is the first in the world devoted to U.S. cotton quality and changes in the market.
“The summit was a very successful international meeting,” said Brent Crossland, marketing manager for the Certified FiberMax Cotton Program™. “
We presented information to more than 70 spinning mills and 30 merchants from 12 countries. The summit covered topics like FiberMax and why it's different, its spinning characteristics, the world cotton supply and demand among others.”
Brent also noted the collaboration within the Bayer Group because the summit also discussed Baypures, one of our textile chemicals products. Another way for Bayer CropScience to present a total solution to our partners: the seed, the fiber, and the finishing chemical.
The BioScience business group launched The FiberMax Certification Program™ officially in June 2003 at the EFS Conference (a technical conference for textile companies) in Greenville, S.C. The certification program gives growers the opportunity to reinforce the value of FiberMax cotton and enhance profit potential by certifying that their cotton was produced from an elite FiberMax cotton seed.
“When we saw reports that indicated more FiberMax cotton was being traded than existed, we knew we had to act quickly to protect the FiberMax brand and generate demand through the creation of Certified FiberMax Cotton. Our summit in Singapore allowed us to create more demand among the international spinning community for high quality FiberMax cotton while adding value for U.S. cotton growers,” said Brent.
Efforts to promote this first-of-its-kind program included: Pre-Certification and Certification forms, along with Q&A sheets, certification kits, including bale tags with the Certified FiberMax logo; a Web site; and several meetings and tradeshows with spinners and merchants in Gdansk, Poland; Liverpool, England; and Milan, Italy.
Some of the key people who shared their views during different sessions of the Summit were : Brent Crossland from Certified FiberMax, Ed Jernigan from GlobeCot, Lee Yi Shyan from IE, Singapore, Jane Dever, FiberMax Cotton Seed USA, Hibbie Barrier from the Jernigan Group, Jagdish Parihar from Olam International, Richard Knowles from Knowles/ Taylor, Phil Burnett from The Seam, Bob Anotoshak from Globecot, Li Lin from China Cotton Association, Chok Hak Leong from Bayer Asia, William Gunter from Cotton Inc., Craig Muller from US Growers Association.
With a year under its belt, program success is evident with about 600,000 bales of FiberMax Cotton certified to date and the expectation to exceed one million bales in 2004.
Photo description
1. Bob Antoshak of GlobeCot Inc. USA, Mostaque Ahmed Siddiqui of Square Textiles Ltd., Bangladesh, David Fraser of Globecot Inc. USA., Md. Mobarak Hossain of Paradise Spinning Mills Ltd., Sultan Ahmed of Prime textile mills Ltd. Bangladesh, Fred Hardin & Ed Jernigan of GlobeCot Inc. USA Syed Mozurul Huq of Techno Textile Mills, Bangladesh.
2. Bob Antoshak, Fred Hardin & Ed Jernigan of GlobeCot Inc. USA, with William Gunter of Cotton Incorporated.
3. Jack Alexander of Louis Dreyfus, Belgium, Andrew Wakefield of Asian Cotton Traders, B.G. Jain of Forbes Gokak Ltd., India, with their colleagues.
4. Mahesh Menon of Olam, Patricia Tay, Josephine Chua, Sandeep Hota & Sunny Verghese of Olam, Vasanth Subramanium, Jagdish Parihar, Vibhu Nath of Olam, Jennifer Lee & Vincent Ong (all of Olam).
5. Ann Antoshak , Hunter Colby,John Antoshak, Robin Goodrich, Robert Antoshak, Jennifer Wong and David Fraser of Globecot, Inc.
6. Sandeep Hota (left) of Olam Int'l, Singapore and Dr. Quamrul Ahsan (right) of Cotton Bangladesh.
7. Participants at the Summit.
8. Phillip Burnett of the Seam, Ray Wall of Cargill Shanghai China and and Bill Dwyer of Ecom USA Inc.
9. Monty Christian of Bayer Bio Science, Texas, USA, David Farley of Matrix Commodities Australia Phillip Burnett of the Seam, USA and Fred Hardin of GlobeCot Inc., USA.
10. Md. Azhar Ali of Square Textiles Ltd., Bangladesh, Sultan Ahmed of Prime Textiles Mills Ltd. Bangladesh, Sunny Verghese of Olam, Singapore, and Dr. Quamrul Ahsan of Cotton Bangladesh, Md. Mobarak Hossain of Paradise Spinning Mills Ltd., Jagdish Parihar of Olam, Singapore, Mostaque Ahmed Siddiqui of Square Textiles Ltd., Bangladesh.
11. Mr. Che Ming, Qingdao Textile Corp., Li Lin of China Cotton Association Sunny Verghese of Olam, Singapore, Su Zhao Hua, Shandong Cherry Textile Group, Jagdish Parihar of Olam Int'l, Singapore, Wang Chunpu Hangzhou Textile Co. China,
Vibhu Nath of Olam Int'l, Singapore.
12. Rodney Ward of Andira Netherlands VB, Viet Nam. Sandeep Hota of Olam Int'l, Singapore, Le Thu of Viet Thang Textile Co. Viet Nam, Hoang Ve Dung, Hanoi, Vietnam.
13. Yin Xianglin of Qingdao Textile Assn.,China, Sunny Verghese & Jagdish Parihar of Olam, Singapore, Liu Chun Hai, Shandong Demian Group, Zhao Yun Chen, Anhui Yuzhong Textile Co,Ms. Yanyee of Olam, Mahesh Menon of Olam Int'l.
14. Sandeep Hota , Mahesh Menon and Vibhu Nath of of Olam Int'l, Singapore.
Interview
An interview with the BGMEA president
By Saad F. Chowdhury
Annisul Huq, the current president of BGMEA is Chairman of Mohammadi Group, a leading conglomerate of RMG factories, and Technovista, a top software exporting company in Bangladesh, which also caters to the local market. During the past couple of months, he has been vocal, expressing concern about the probable consequence of MFA phase out and its impact on the textile sector. His views have caught quite a bit of media attention. However, the face of Annisul Huq isn't new on TV, he is also one of the most popular TV anchor of the country. The reporters of Cotton Bangladesh had a pleasant and informative discussion with Mr. Annisul Haque on 15th September.