Cotton USA, which promotes US cotton fibre and manufactured cotton products, recently helped US spinning mills to market US manufactured cotton yarns and fabrics to the Egyptian and Moroccan textile firms from November 10 to 15, 2017. Cotton Council International (CCI), is the export promotion arm of the National Cotton Council of America (NCC). Four US mills travelled to Egypt to attend the second Destination Africa Sourcing Fair, which was held on November 11 and 12, 2017 in Cairo. Following that trade show, three companies continued on to Casablanca, Morocco, to meet textile and apparel association and private companies sourcing yarns.
In Cairo, the group was briefed by the US Embassy Agricultural Counselor on the Egyptian political and economic situation, and by a representative of the Egyptian industry on the Egyptian market and its demand for yarns and fabrics and the role of the QIZ (Qualified Industrial Zones). Cotton Council International (CCI) gave a presentation on the situation across key African companies, highlighting potential for cotton production, demand for cotton fibre, and the capacity of the textile and garment sectors.
There were strong networking opportunities with exhibitors at the Destination Africa Trade Show, which were primarily fabric and garment companies from Egypt, as well as opportunities to learn more from both US and European brands on their views of the region and US cotton. Yarn companies reported potential for limited volume sales in the Egyptian market for knit fabric manufacturing but larger potential for sales for towel and bed linen weaving, which may increase with further education on US manufactured yarn quality (OE, Vortex, and Airjet) and more oneon- one visits.
In Morocco, Cotton USA and the US spinners’ delegation first met the Moroccan Textile and Apparel Manufacturers Association (AMITH) in Casablanca. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the US and Morocco was the focus of the local industry. Since the beginning of 2016, due to Tariff Preference Level (TPL) requirements, Morocco had to use either US or Moroccan originated yarn and fabrics. This was one of the reasons for interest in US yarns and fabrics. During one-on-one meetings, Moroccan companies, which are focused primarily on sales to the Spanish and French markets, mentioned that they specify US cotton for white and light colours for lack of contamination and higher quality.
