World Cotton Day

World Cotton Day

• Every year on October 7, World Cotton Day is observed. The international event will celebrate its third anniversary in 2022.

The Story of the Day

• History/Background: The Cotton Four, four Sub-Saharan African cotton producers Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, proposed the first World Cotton Day to the World Trade Organization on October 7, 2019. (WTO).
• On October 7, 2019, the WTO welcomed the Cotton-4 countries' initiative to organize World Cotton Day.
• Theme: Weaving a Better Cotton Future
• The theme focuses on sustainable cotton cultivation in order to improve the lives of cotton laborers, smallholders, and their families.
• The significance of the day is that it provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about cotton and cotton-related products, as well as the need for developing countries to have greater access to international markets in order to sell cotton-related goods.
• It encourages ethical trade practices and allows developing countries to profit from each stage of the cotton value chain.
• The event benefits farmers and emerging economies in terms of economic development.

Cotton Crop Information

• It is a Kharif Crop derived from the natural fibres of cotton plants native to tropical and subtropical regions.
• China, India, the United States of America, Brazil, and Pakistan are the top five cotton-producing countries, accounting for more than three-quarters of global production.
• Cotton is the most environmentally friendly raw material for the textile industry when compared to synthetic alternatives because it is renewable and biodegradable.
• Cotton plants have a long growing season that can last up to 200 days. Cotton cultivation begins between December and March. Over a long growing season, these plants require a relatively high temperature (21-30°C).
• Cotton is a xerophyte that can grow in dry, arid environments, so it is not a thirsty crop.
• Cotton cultivation takes up only 3% of the world's land. Despite this, it meets 27% of the world's textile demand.

Cotton production in India

• India is the world's largest cotton producer and third largest exporter. It is also the world's largest cotton consumer.
• Gujarat and Maharashtra are the top cotton producing states in India. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
• All four cultivated cotton species are grown in India: G.arboreum and Herbaceum (Asian cotton), G.barbadense (Egyptian cotton), and G. hirsutum (American Upland cotton).
• G.hirsutum (American upland cotton) accounts for 94% of hybrid cotton production in India, and G. hirsutum is the source of all current Bt cotton hybrids.
• In the global cotton trade, India's cotton is now known as 'Kasturi Cotton.'
• Since their introduction in 2002, pest-resistant Genetically Modified (GM) Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market (covering over 95% of the cotton area).
• These now cover over 95% of cotton land, with seeds produced entirely by the private sector.
• India is the only country that grows cotton as hybrids and the first to develop hybrid cotton back in 1970.

Read Also: Make masks at home with cotton and silk