To get familiar with US cotton and to know how the fibre is produced, processed and marketed, textile executives from 12 Asian, Latin American and European countries are traversing the US Cotton Belt since September 28.

There are about 28 participants representing 23 companies from countries such as Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

It has been expected that these 12 countries will consume about 64 million bales of cotton, in the year 2009-10, which accounts for about 57% of the total world cotton consumption. The annual import of cotton bales of these 12 countries is 22 million bales including 12 million US bales, which is approximately 70 percent of total global sales of US cotton.

Demand for US cotton begins by educating worldwide textile industry on advantages of purchasing US cotton, said Mr. Clyde Sharp, President of Cotton Council International (CCI) that sponsors COTTON USA Orientation Tour.

This tour of 23 companies, from 12 countries, to the US is an opportunity to showcase the benefits of US cotton to overseas spinners of its fiber, and also a prospect to reinforce ties between the US cotton industry and its overseas customers.

The 2009 participant countries will visit a farm and gin in the Mid-South, observe cotton research in North Carolina, Mississippi and Texas, and tour the USDA cotton classing office in Bartlett, Tennessee as well as meet exporters in the four major cotton belt regions.

To increase the awareness about the types and qualities of US cotton among its consumers and make them understand about the US marketing practices as well as to improve their bonding with US exporters are the objectives of the tour, which enables US cotton to acquire additional market share in the foreign countries.