Abrapa’s schedule in the country begins on the 23rd with events, technical visits and presenting the Brazilian Cotton Quality Program 

The Cotton Brazil program, which promotes Brazilian cotton internationally, this week kicks off its 2023 agenda for China, the largest importer of Brazilian cotton. The Brazilian Cotton Growers Association (Abrapa) will be holding a number of activities from March 23rd to 28th on Chinese soil, including the presentation of the Brazilian Cotton Quality Program developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and by the association. 

“Last year, we had  number of activities planned for China, but due to the pandemic, the country remained closed. Now, we want to intensify business and also publicize how the official classing program works”, said Abrapa president Mr. Alexandre Schenkel.  

Partnership with the CNCE

 Mr. Schenkel is one of the participants in the Abrapa delegation, which has a number of events, technical visits and meetings planned with Chinese authorities. The first appointment will be this Wednesday (23rd) at the 2023 CNCE Industry Development Conference, in Beijing.  

This event is considered to be one of the largest in the cotton market in China and is promoted by the China National Cotton Exchange (CNCE), one of the main organizations in the Chinese cotton chain.  

It is expected that the conference will bring together 500 companies from the Chinese textile sector. Abrapa will have an exhibition stand at the event so as to make the most of this opportunity to talk and meet with industry players. There will also be a talk given by Abrapa’s Director of International Relations, Mr. Marcelo Duarte, during the official event program, on the current status of cotton production in Brazil.  

This is the sixth event held by Cotton Brazil in China since the program was set up in 2019. Another three Cotton Brazil events are planned to be held in the cities of Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Beijing in April. These are part of Abrapa’s international mission that will take Brazilian producers and exporters on an exchange trip to meet with the Chinese and South Korean textile markets.  

Technical visits

Following the CNCE event, the Abrapa delegation will head to Qingdao where they will visit the Chinese Inspection and Quarantine agency. The high point of the schedule will be a series of meetings at bonded warehouses at the Port of Qingdao, the largest in China for cotton imports and the seventh busiest in the world. 

On returning to Beijing, Abrapa representatives will visit Chinatex and China National Cotton Group Corp. (CNGCC) – China’s largest cotton traders. The two state-owned companies trade approximately 2.5 million tonnes of cotton per year. 

Official Program

On Monday night (27th), the Abrapa team will meet with the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Carlos Fávaro, and the Brazilian delegation. 

“At our meetings, we will present to representatives of the Chinese private and public sectors how the Brazilian Cotton Quality Program works. This has been developed by the Brazilian government in partnership with Abrapa”, Mr. Schenkel explains.  

The program certifies that the quality testing of the cotton samples has been performed by instrumental analysis in accordance with international standards which guarantees their reliability. To achieve this, systematic sampling of each bale is carried out during ginning, transport and storage following the international HVI (High Volume Instruments) classing practices.  

“This is a system that is transparent, consistent and reliable in order to meet the buyer’s market’s requirements, and which eliminates the need for additional quality control at the final destination”, explains Abrapa’s President.  

Partnership in numbers

According to the Federal Government, since 2009 China has been Brazil’s largest trading partner and one of the main sources of investment in Brazilian territory. In 2022, trade between the countries reached a record US$ 150.5 billion. Brazil and China established a Strategic Partnership in 1993, which was subsequently elevated to the Global Strategic Partnership in 2012. The countries will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2024.  

In the case of cotton, there is a very close relationship. Cotton was the second largest agricultural product exported to China in 2022, second only to soybeans. In ten years, Chinese imports of Brazilian cotton have increased by 47.13%, and today the country is the main buyer of Brazilian cotton. In the 2021/22 market year, 11 Brazilian states exported 455.61 thousand tonnes of cotton to China, which accounted for 27% of all shipments in that period.  

Cotton Brazil

Set up in 2019 by Abrapa, Cotton Brazil is a market development and promotion program for Brazilian cotton on a global scale. This initiative is run in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and is supported by the National Cotton Shippers Association (Anea) and the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) and Foreign Affairs (MRE).