The event, which took place in March, seeks to bring Brazilian cotton closer to Chinese companies. The share of Brazilian cotton in Chinese imports reached 37% in the 2019/2020 season, and the Asian country is currently the largest importer of Brazilian lint. 

An important meeting between Brazilian cotton growers and representatives from the Chinese textile industry marked last Thursday, March 10. The occasion was Cotton Brazil Outlook China, an event promoted by Cotton Brazil, an initiative led by Abrapa (Brazilian Cotton Growers Association), in partnership with Anea (Brazilian Cotton Shippers Association) and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), with support from the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing and from the CNCE (China National Cotton Exchange) 

The event was the latest of a virtual series that has already promoted meetings with businesspeople from India, South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia. The intent is to strengthen relations between authorities and specialists from Brazil and local textile leaders. Cotton Brazil Outlook participants receive valuable information about Brazilian cotton including its intrinsic characteristics, data about the latest crop and short and medium term forecasts. 

After the opening remarks by Marcelo Duarte, Director of International Relations at Abrapa and manager of Cotton Brazil, Abrapa’s president, Júlio Cézar Busato, welcomed those present. Then the Brazilian ambassador to Beijing, Paulo Estivallet, stressed the importance of the commercial partnership the two countries have enjoyed in recent decades. According to him, even with the serious global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, commercial records were established in 2020. 

“Brazilian cotton exports to China grew by 31% between 2019 and 2020. This is proof that Brazil is capable of producing and selling large volumes with great quality”, explained the ambassador, adding, “the hard work of growers and authorities has made Brazilian cotton known and appreciated the world over.” 

China is the main international market for Brazilian cotton 

According to data from Abrapa, China, which is the largest global consumer of cotton, has also been the number one importer of Brazilian lint, accounting for 30% of the total volume shipped between August 2019 and July 2020. The Asian country has increased its purchases of Brazilian cotton: in the last 5 years, Brazil has expanded the volume of cotton exported to China by more than five times. In the 2015/2016 season, Brazil shipped 100,661 tonnes; in the 2019/2020 season the figure rose to 576,680 tonnes, leading to revenues of US $ 916.4 million. 

Yang Baofu, deputy general director of CNCE – China National Cotton Exchange (an organization whose portfolio includes more than 5,000 Chinese cotton buyers), acknowledged the growing importance of Brazilian cotton to the Chinese textile industry and the need for increasingly close relations between both countries. 

“The integration of the Chinese market and the entire cotton chain with Brazil has forged an outstanding win-win cooperation”, he said. Still according to Mr. Baofu, the Cotton Brazil Outlook event represents “an opportunity to further increase mutual understanding, strengthen cooperation, expand the scale of the Brazilian cotton business in the Chinese market, and create a healthy international business environment”. 

The webinar also featured presentations by Júlio Cézar Busato, President of Abrapa; Edson Mizoguchi, Abrapa’s Quality Manager; Carlos Moresco, Brazilian cotton grower; Henrique Snitcovski, President of Anea; and Marcelo Duarte, Director of international relations at Abrapa.  

At the end of the event, representatives from the Chinese industry actively participated in a very rich Q&A session: Eric Weng, from the International Trading Department of Chinatex Cotton (HK) Limited; Nana Zhao, General Manager of Henan Tongzhou Cotton Trade Co.; and Kris Kong, International Manager of Hebei Xindadong Textile Co. Participants also shared their perceptions about the increased quality and acceptance of Brazilian cotton by the Chinese textile industry. A series of suggestions also came up around ways to increase the share of Brazilian cotton in the Chinese Market, to create a win-win situation across all links in the chain.  

The Cotton Brazil Outlook – China event is one of several actions led by the Cotton Brazil initiative in the world’s main cotton-consuming markets. 

About Cotton Brazil 

The Cotton Brazil initiative was launched at the end of 2020 to promote Brazilian cotton in the global market, and is the result of 20 years of constant innovation, research, and investments in industry improvements. 

Led by Abrapa (Brazilian Cotton Growers Association) in partnership with Anea (Brazilian Cotton Shippers Association) and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), Cotton Brazil seeks to place Brazil in a leadership position among the world’s cotton exporters through actions including digital marketing; a website in nine languages ​​combined with social media efforts; relationship marketing programs; technical and commercial events; market intelligence; buyers and sellers missions; strategic research and partnerships. In order to coordinate these actions in a more efficient way and foster richer relations with its Asian clients, Abrapa has an office in Singapore.  

To learn more, visit: www.cottonbrazil.com