The National Cotton Council of America (NCC) and the China Cotton Association (CCA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), promising cooperation between the countries' cotton industries.
The document was signed by NCC Chairman Allen Helms and CCA Secretary General Madam Gao Fang in a ceremony at the Memphis Cotton Museum.
“This memorandum signals a spirit of cooperation and good will,” Helms says. “We look forward to a successful future of mutually beneficial trade and increased cooperation among the U.S. and Chinese cotton industries.”
China is the world's largest cotton importer, largest raw cotton consumer (mill level) and the largest cotton producer. After recently being admitted to the World Trade Organization, China is rapidly merging into the world economy.
“Cotton trade with China is very healthy today as the U.S. exported 8.6 million bales or about 36% of its crop to China in the past 12 months,” says Helms, a Clarkedale, AK, cotton producer. “This MOU is significant for the U.S. cotton industry as it seeks to build not only on that current momentum but on its long-time relationship with China.”