World Cotton Day

Context

• October 7 is celebrated each year as World Cotton Day. Year 2022 marks the third-anniversary celebration of the international event.

About the Day

• History/ Background: The first World Cotton Day was proposed by the World Trade Organization on October 7, 2019, by the Cotton Four, four sub-Saharan African cotton producers Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali, collectively known as the Cotton Four (WTO).
  • The Cotton-4 countries` initiative to organise World Cotton Day was welcomed by the WTO on October 7, 2019. 
• Theme: Weaving a better future for Cotton
  • The focus of the theme is on cotton cultivation that is sustainable in order to better the lives of cotton labourers, smallholders, and their families. 
• Significance: The day presents a brilliant opportunity to raise awareness about cotton and cotton-related products as well as the need for developing nations to have greater access to international markets in order to sell their cotton-related goods. 
  • It promotes ethical trade practices and makes it possible for developing nations to profit from each stage of the cotton value chain.
  • The event gives farmers and emerging countries a boost in terms of economic development.

About Cotton Crop

• It is a Kharif Crop that comes from the natural fibers of cotton plants, which are native to tropical and subtropical regions.
• The top five cotton producing countries are China, India, the United States of America, Brazil and Pakistan, which together account for more than three-quarters of global production.
• Being renewable and biodegradable, cotton is the most environmentally friendly raw material for the textile industry as compared to its synthetic alternatives.
• Cotton plants have a large growing period which can extend up to 200 days. Growing cotton starts between December and March. These plants require a relatively high temperature (21-30°C) over a long growing season.
• The cotton is not a thirsty crop as it is a xerophyte, which can grow in dry, arid environments.
• Only 3 percent of the world’s land is used for growing cotton. Yet, it meets 27 percent of the world’s textile demands.

Cotton in India

• India is the largest producer of cotton in the world and the third largest exporter. It is also the largest consumer of cotton in the world.
• Top Cotton Producing States in India are Gujarat, Maharashtra.Telangana, Andhra Pradesh.
• India is the country to grow all four species of cultivated cotton G.arboreum and Herbaceum (Asian cotton), G.barbadense (Egyptian cotton) and G. hirsutum (American Upland cotton). 
  • G.hirsutum represents 94% of the hybrid cotton production in India and all the current Bt cotton hybrids are G. hirsutum.
  • Now India’s Cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade.
• The pest-resistant Genetically Modified (GM) Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market (covering over 95% of the area under cotton) since their introduction in 2002.
  • These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the 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. 

Source: PIB