World Cotton Day | 7 October

World Cotton Day | 7 October

Cotton, the fabric of our lives.

Cotton touches us every day, it is a source of livelihoods for millions of smallholders and labourers, including women and their families, and contributes significantly to the economies of many developing countries. 

The World Cotton Day is an excellent opportunity to renew our commitment to enhancing the sustainability of the cotton sector and bring it to the forefront of the global agenda. 

WCD-CFG-V2
7 October 2024, 10:00 hours (CEST)
The Palais de Congrès, Cotonou, Benin | Webcast


Cotton for Good
Supported by Partenariat pour le Coton
Hosted by the Government of Benin

In 2024, World Cotton Day (WCD) will be celebrated on October 7 in Cotonou, Benin, marking the first time the event will be held in a country rather than at an international organization. This also marks the first celebration of WCD on the African continent. Over 400 attendees are expected to gather to share ideas on enhancing the benefits and impact of cotton, the world’s most important natural fiber.

The event is jointly organized by the Government of Benin and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations Trade & Development (UNCTAD), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The celebration will also highlight the importance of sustained economic growth, inclusive and sustainable industrial development, fair trade practices, and decent work for all.

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Celebrating cotton

Cotton is a culture, a way of life, and a tradition with its roots at the heart of human civilization. In August 2021, the General Assembly of the United Nations recognised the unique benefits of cotton by proclaiming 7 October of each year as World Cotton Day. The objective of this global celebration is to raise the visibility of the cotton sector and awareness of the critical role that it plays in economic development, international trade and poverty alleviation.

Cotton is the most important of the natural fibres, used daily in apparel and home furnishings. Cotton is a critical means of livelihood for millions of smallholders and their families by providing employment and income. It represents an important source of export revenues for some of the poorest countries in the world. The World Cotton Day offers a unique opportunity to renew the commitment to a sustainable cotton sector for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Key messages

Cotton is an important means of livelihood for millions of smallholders, workers and their families, providing employment and income.
Cotton exports represent an important source of foreign exchange earnings for a number of low-income countries, helping to cover their food import bills.
Cotton faces a number of uncertainties on both the production and demand sides that need to be properly addressed if the sector is to realize its full potential in supporting economic growth and sustainable development.
The cotton sector at all levels of the value chain represents a way to address wider development concerns to empower women and boost youth employment, while ensuring decent work for all.
The sector needs to transform to achieve greater efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability.
Science and innovation, research, digitalisation, better governance, and targeted investments can sustain this transformative change.
A rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, predictable and transparent international cotton trading system is key to provide a livelihood to hundreds of millions of vulnerable people around the globe.
The cotton sector also needs greater coordination across the value chain to boost efficiency, transparency, and value, including developing by-products.


Interesting facts about cotton

Where is cotton grown?

Cotton is grown in subtropical and seasonally
dry tropical areas in both the northern
and southern hemispheres.

The cotton industry

The cotton industry benefits over 100
million families worldwide.

World cotton volume

In 2023, world production of cotton was estimated at around 24 million tonnes, 10 million tonnes of cotton were traded.

World cotton value

The value of global cotton production is
estimated at USD 75 billion annually,
while world trade in cotton exceeds
USD 22 billion annually.

Key world traders

The United States of America
and Brazil are the world’s largest
cotton exporters, while China is the
largest importer.

Cotton demand

Demand for cotton is driven by the demand
for textiles and depends on competition
from synthetic fibres.

Global textile trade

In 2022, the value of world trade of textiles amounted to about USD 915 billion.


Did you know?

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.
It is estimated that about 24 million farmers produce cotton globally and nearly half of them are women.

Cotton is the second-largest fibre by volume, after polyester, accounting for approximately 22% of global fibre production.

Around 80 percent of cotton is used in apparel, 15 percent in home furnishings and the remaining 5 percent mostly accounts for non-woven applications, such as filters and padding.


Why is World Cotton Day important?

World Cotton Day (WCD) acknowledges the historical and economic significance of cotton, recognizing the livelihoods and subsistence it provides for millions and its broader economic and social impact worldwide. It helps raise awareness about the challenges and opportunities within the sector, particularly for low-income countries, while underscoring the sector’s relevance to achieving the 2030 Agenda. WCD serves as a valuable opportunity to renew our commitment to fostering a sustainable cotton sector for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

 


Publications

2024

This chapter describes market developments and medium-term projections for world cotton markets for the period 2024-33. Projections cover consumption, production, trade and prices developments for cotton.

2024

The Agricultural Outlook 2024-2033 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well as input from collaborating member countries to provide an annual assessment of the prospects for the coming decade of national, regional and global agricultural commodity markets.

2023

Cotton is an important source of livelihood for millions of smallholders worldwide and women contribute significantly to cotton farming, constituting a large share of the workforce involved in primary production. However, women face disproportionate barriers along the cotton value chain in terms of access to land, inputs and services that affect the quality of their participation and the benefit they can derive.

2022

This document analyses the cotton market in the Cotton-4 (C-4) countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. It studies the current market situation and medium-term prospects of the sector and considers the way forward.

2023

Cotton is a key driver of economic growth, sustaining millions of farmers and families across 80 countries in five continents. It also represents an important source of foreign exchange for a number of low- and middle-income countries. World cotton trade began to trend upwards in the early 2000s with the implementation of the commitments undertaken at the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and is projected to expand steadily over the next decade.

2021

The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of a number of developing countries, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide. In 2019, world production of cotton was valued at about USD 46 billion, while global trade reached USD 15 billion.

2021

The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of a number of developing countries, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide.



Multimedia

13/10/2022

From field to fabric, the familiar touch of cotton is woven into our lives. Cotton is one of the oldest natural fibers. It is the thread connecting civilizations.

11/10/2022

More than just a textile, cotton is a culture and a way of life for hundreds of millions of households worldwide. Cotton creates jobs and incomes for millions at the heart of the supply chain.

23/09/2023

Do you wonder why the whole world celebrates cotton every 7 October? This short video explains the history of World Cotton Day — and why it's so important to support cotton all year long.

15/09/2022

María Rosa Farroñán, Mochica indigenous cotton farmer and artisan shares her experience cultivating and spinning Peruvian native cotton fiber.

23/09/2022

Within the framework of the Trilateral + Cotton South-South Cooperation Project, implemented jointly by the Government of Brazil through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC / MRE), FAO and the project's partner countries, it has been developed with the support from Embrapa Algodón, a protot...

22/04/2022

Cotton is one of the most common fabrics in the world. Its production is heavily dependent on natural resources and labour. Unfortunately, child labour is often a part of this. Child labour is work that is inappropriate for a child’s age, or harmful to children’s education, health, safety or ...



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