The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is hosting the 81st Plenary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai during 2nd – 5th December 2023 through the Office of Textile Commissioner in association with the Cotton Corporation of India Limited (CCI), the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and the Cotton Association of India (CAI).
This event will be inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles. Over 400 delegates from 35 countries across continents are expected to attend the four-day conference, which will include government representatives from various cotton growing and consuming countries/regions, reputed industrialists, important business delegates, eminent scientists and researchers, and others.
India held the previous event in 2015, with the subject From Farm to Fabric: The Many Faces of Cotton concentrating on value addition. Moving future, the agenda will shift from economics to ecology. This is also the fifth time in the previous six decades that the ICAC Plenary Meeting has been hosted in India.
The United Nations recognises ICAC as an intergovernmental body covering cotton. India, along with Brazil, Egypt, France, Sudan, and the United States, is a founding member of this forum.
The ICAC Plenary Meetings provide a forum for discussions on international issues of importance to the World Cotton industry, as well as an opportunity for industry and government leaders from cotton producing, consuming, and trading countries to deliberate on mutual concerns.
Cotton Value Chain: Local Innovations for Global Prosperity is the theme of this Plenary Meeting. The emphasis is on local innovations and cutting-edge technologies for sustainability that are developed locally but have global ramifications and possibilities for the prosperity of the cotton value chain, which affects the livelihoods of millions of people working in the cotton production, processing, trading, fashion, and textile industries.
The event will provide India with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase the strength, growth, and resilience of India’s cotton-based textile industry; share case studies, success stories, and inventive steps of small and marginal farmers; and highlight local initiatives for increasing productivity and sustainability through carbon sequestration.
Following the high-level four-day Plenary Meeting, a Technical Tour in and around Ahmedabad is planned for interested delegates from 6th to 8th December 2023. The trip would aim to provide an insight into the country’s textile industry, highlighting the route from farm to fashion, with a particular emphasis on cotton.
