Turkey was the final destination of the “Egypt-Turkey Mission”, a commercial exchange promoted by the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association (Abrapa) in May. The aim was to strengthen ties with Turkey’s textile industry, and the results was favorable.  

The mission is part of Cotton Brazil’s calendar. Cotton Brazil is an Abrapa program that represents the Brazilian cotton production chain on a global scale. It is run in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brasil) and the National Association of Cotton Exporters (Anea).  

“We have had a commercial partnership with the Turkish textile industry for at least 27 years. They know our product and provided us with important feedback that demonstrates the first practical results of our certification program of the logistics stage of Brazilian cotton”, explained Abrapa’s President, Alexandre Schenkel. 

The feedback was received during “Cotton Brazil Outlook,” a seminar where Abrapa’s Director of International Relations, Marcelo Duarte, presented updates on the 2024/25 crop season and prospects. The talk also emphasized the main assets of Brazilian cotton, highlighting that more than 80% of Brazilian cotton has socio-environmental certification. 

The seminar, held in the Turkish city of Antalya, attracted around 70 professionals, including mill owners, agents, and traders. The event provided an opportunity for exchanging information and obtaining feedback from importers. 

Turkey’s textile industry and ABR LOG

“One of the high points was hearing how we have improved the bale conditioning quality compared to two years ago, as we heard for the first time about the practical impacts of Abrapa’s ABR-LOG certification program,” said Alexandre Schenkel.  

ABR-LOG is a certification protocol developed by Abrapa in partnership with Anea specifically for cotton export shipping terminals. Established in 2022, this protocol includes 127 assessment items, covering socio-environmental and, especially, operational criteria to ensure that the bales reach their destination undamaged and untarnished.  

Numbers

In the 2022/23 market year, Turkey was the fifth-largest importer of cotton worldwide. purchasing 165,000 tonnes of Brazilian cotton – accounting for 18% of the total market share. The third-largest cotton producer in the world, Brazil is expected to export 2.5 million tonnes in the 2023/24 season.