DECLARATION ON THE SITUATION OF COTTON IN ARGENTINA

Transcription

1 DECLARATION ON THE SITUATION OF COTTON IN ARGENTINA INTERNATIONAL COTTON ADVISORY COMMITTEE 76TH PLENARY MEETING TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, from October 22 to 27, 2017.

2 INDEX CULTIVATED SURFACE... Page 3 to 6 PRODUCTION... Page 6 to 7 VARITIES... Page 7 to 8 MAIN TECHNOLOGICAL VALUES OF THE ARGENTINE COTTON FIBER... Page 8 to 9 LAST COTTON NEWS... Page 9 to 13 EXPORTS... Page 13 to 14 IMPORTS... Page 15 PROSPECTS FOR THE CAMPAIGN 2017/18... Page 15 CONSUMPTION... Page 16 THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY... Page 17 to 18 Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 2

3 DECLARATION OF THE SITUATION OF COTTON IN ARGENTINA FOR THE 76TH PLENARY SESSION OF INTERNATIONAL COTTON ADVISORY COMMITTEE 1. CULTIVATED SURFACE a) Geographical Location of Cultivated Surface- Retrospective Analysis. During the 2016/17 agricultural campaign in the Argentine Republic, cotton was sown in the following provinces: Catamarca. Formosa. Córdoba. Salta. Corrientes. San Luis. Chaco. Santa Fe. Entre Ríos. Santiago del Estero. These provinces correspond to the argentine north, being the cotton area of Argentina defined between the north of the parallel 32º and the south of the parallel 24º and, between the meridian 56º and 66º, approximately. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 3

4 Analyzing the last twenty campaigns, and as can be seen in the graphics N 1 and N 2, it is possible to extrapolate that the sown area underwent fluctuations, reaching its maximum values on the 97/98 campaign, with hectares, and the minimum in the 2002/03 season, with hectares. However, we can affirm that the values that today are registered of sown area ( hectares), harvested area ( hectares) and production ( hectares) are higher than the values obtained on the 2002/03 campaign. Graph No. 1. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 4

5 Graph No. 2. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. b) Analysis of the last campaign. The cotton sown area in the 2016/17 season, reached hectares, while the harvest area was superior to the hectares. It should be noted that the country average yields are close to kg raw cotton per hectare, being the province of San Luis the one that reached the highest yield (4.300 kg/hectare), followed by Santiago del Estero with kg/hectare. Although these records experienced a decrease compared to the previous season, we should mention that they were affected by unfavorable agroclimatic conditions. A detailed analysis by province of the last season, allows us to visualize the following table: Surface and Production 2016/17 (Estimated to 24/08/17) Provinces Seeded area (ha) Lost Area (ha) Harvested area (ha) Production (tons) Yield (kg/ha) Catamarca Córdoba Corrientes Chaco Entre Ríos Formosa Salta San Luis Santa Fe Santiago Del Estero TOTAL * Table No. 1. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. * Average yield for all the country, expressed on kg of cotton raw/hectare equivalent to 770 kg/ hectare of cotton raw fibber, reaching in some cases 884 kg/hectare. In graphic N 3 it could be seen that, in the actuality, the province of Santiago del Estero, shows the highest surface dedicated to cotton in our country, encompassing the 46,6% of Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 5

6 the sown area in Argentina, followed by the province of Chaco (28,5%) y Santa Fé (14,5%), adding between the three 89,6% of the national cotton area. Graph No. 3. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. 2. PRODUCTION. a) National Production Retrospective Analysis. In graphic N 4, it can be seen the cotton production evolution in the Argentina. Analyzing the last twenty campaigns, it s possible to say that the 1997/98, 2010/11 y 2014/15 seasons were remarkable; these seasons were the ones with the higher volume produced, being the second of this campaigns the highest one in this two decades. Also, it s necessary to take account that during the seasons 2010/11 and 2014/15 the sown area was minor than 1997/98, what give us an idea that how increased the yields (kg per hectare), despite the retraction of the cotton cultivated area. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 6

7 Graph No. 4. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. b) Analysis of the last campaign. During 2016/17 season, tons of raw cotton were produced; the main production was in the provinces of Santiago del Estero ( tons), Chaco ( tons) and Santa Fe ( tons). The percentage incidence of each is shown in the following graph (No. 5). Graph No. 5. Source: Directorate of Agricultural Estimates and Delegations. Provisional data, subject to change and readjustment. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. During the current season, the Cotton Boll Weevil attacked intensively, and producers, taking into account Law No , constituted the Sanitary Entities that is allowing Argentina to produce cotton in spite of the plague. The province that advanced the most in this sense is Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 7

8 Santiago del Estero, in which each health entity is advised by one or more agronomics engineers. 3. VARIETIES. The main reference in the improvement of the quality of the seed and production of varieties in Argentina is the INTA (for his acronym in Spanish, which means National Institute of Agricultural Technology). The objective of the program is to generate and select varieties adapted to the national territory, especially considering characteristics such as productivity, fiber quality and health. At present, they are commercially distributed (Guazuncho 3 INTA and Poraite INTA). The private sector has contributed some commercial varieties that are much more required than the previous ones, being these: the DP 402 BG / RR and Nuopal RR. It should be mentioned that the first is a development by Monsanto and INTA, as well as the Guazuncho 2000 RR. In addition, in the last campaigns DP 1238 BG / RR was incorporated. At the moment the signature Genetics Mandiyú (Monsanto), has changed his administration to Gensus and conserves the diffusion of the last mentioned varieties. It should be noted that more than 70% of the sowed area corresponds to the variety Nuopal RR; However, some cotton producers have required seeds of varieties with INTA genetics and transgenic events, since according to them they are the yield of the kilos of fiber per hectare, as well as the percentage to the cotton ginning is higher than in the varieties with greater diffusion. The agronomic behavior is presented in the following table: Variety/line Yield Yield mill Variants (kg fiber/ha) (% fiber) Length (mm) Technological Parameters of Fiber Resistance (gr/tex) Uniformity Micronaire DP 402 BG/RR , ,3 83,8 3,82 Guazuncho3 INTA ,2 28,9 31,8 84,4 3,9 Nuopal RR ,2 28,9 31,4 82,3 4 Guazuncho ,8 28,9 30,8 82,3 4,3 Poraite INTA ,1 29,5 32,3 84,5 4 Table No. 2. Source: The table above supposes tests of the Institute of Agricultural Technology INTA of the town Roque Sáenz Peña sowed with distancing of 0,48 m. INTA EEA Sáenz Peña, Chaco, Argentina. As can be seen in the table, the variety Poraité INTA is the cultivar with the best parameters. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 8

9 For its part, the Nuopal that was registered for its fiber characteristics is a transgenic variety of good quality (*) Thanks to the councel of the Eng. Agr. Mauricio Tcach of INTA and Eng. Agr. Alberto Ballesteros of INASE on this topic 4. MAIN TECHNOLOGICAL VALUES OF THE FIBER OF ARGENTINE COTTON. In the INTA Sáenz Peña, of the Chaco, specifically in the FIBER TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY standards have been established, they are listed in the following table, for the characterization of Argentinian cotton fiber: Concept Length Resistance Micronaire Mm gr/tex Index Very high greater than 30,0 greater than 31 greater than 5,0 High 29,1 to 30,0 29 to 31 4,6 to 5,0 Medium 27,1 to 29,0 24 to 28 3,7 to 4,5 Low 26,0 to 27,0 22 to 23 3,2 to 3,6 Very low Less than 26,0 inferior a 22 inferior a 3,2 Table Nº 3. Analyzing the registered statistical values of the cotton fiber can be commented that: 1- The Micronaire index also experienced an increase reaching 4.2 Mic/index, becoming stable in the last years. 2- The length went from values inferior or near 25 mm to levels near or superior to 28 mm. 3- The resistance has been increasing until reaching gr/tex (level HVI). All these parameters determine that the Argentine cotton fiber is among the levels considered internationally average. (*) Thanks to the councel of the Eng. Agr. Alex Montenegro of INTA on this topic. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 9

10 5. Last cotton news a) Traceability. A joint effort between the Ministry of Agroindustry and the INTI (for his acronym in Spanish, which means National Institute of Industrial Technology) began to work within the framework of the Assistance Program for the Improvement of Quality of Cotton Fiber (PROCALGODON) on fiber quality traceability of the crop through RFID technology (radio frequency identification) from its production in the field to the bale. With the assistance of the Eng. Patricia Marino, the main cotton provinces were urged to develop pilot tests in this regard. In principle the province of Santa Fe began with these activities and it is expected that both the province of Santiago del Estero and Chaco will join the experience. For this, at the meeting of December 21, 2016, technicians from the INTI made a presentation with the different RFID chip models, proposing for the cotton traceability protocol, given the handling of the bales and the possible form of reading, Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID chips. This type of system, which works as a bundle document, not only allows to record, but also allows the rewriting of the available memory space, and the information can be encrypted. PROCALGODON, which depends on the Ministry of Agroindustry of the Nation, aims to obtain data from the different stages of production and clothing manufacture. This contribute to the improvement of the raw material and all those processes involved to obtain it, in order to promote a more transparent marketing that includes not only the commercial classification determined by the classifier as carried out in the current system for determining the price of the fiber but also include measurements according to the objective quality determined by equipment of High Volume Instrument (HVI). Although pilot tests were initially carried out on bale traceability from bar codes, this system is cumbersome when handling large volumes of bales, since the label must remain visible for readability. That is why it was decided to implement a system based on RFID technology, which will allow to obtain in each bale identification data of the producer, area, lot, method of sowing and harvesting, ginning, characteristics of the process of cotton Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 10

11 ginning, commercial classification and technological values of fiber quality measured with HVI equipment. It is worth mentioning that during the month of September the province of Santa Fe has been a pioneer in the implementation of the first laboratory with HVI equipment that, in the future, will form the network of laboratories that are intended to be installed within the framework of PROCALGODON. With this methodology, this province aims, as maximum objective that all information reaches the final consumer; ergo, that the garment made contains all the history of its production process. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 11

12 AWARD TO THE TRACEABILITY OF COTTON PRODUCTION WITH RFID TECHNOLOGY It is also worth mentioning that this topic was mentioned last July 24 in the awards ceremony, which was held in the Argentine Rural Society, with the distinction to the Innovation in Agricultural Technology organized by the International Center for Innovation in Agricultural Technology. (CITA 2017). b) PROCALGODON. The initiative was confirmed so that all research carried out under this program is carried to the producer through each regional center that owns the INTA, allowing to adopt the technology tested in general to the particular and zonal needs of each cotton producer. It is important to emphasize that this methodology includes everything from the preparation of the land to harvesting, to recommendations for the use of good quality seed, as well as good management practices and proper collection, taking into account the type of producer and the specific needs of the industry. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 12

13 c) Health Entities. Another development that can be mentioned is the work that the Ministry of Agroindustry of the Nation is carrying out together with the National Service of Health and Agrifood Quality (SENASA), through Law No , which seeks to generate Local Sanitation Entities (ES) for the control of the cotton boll weevil, and for this, an application is being developed that will allow the different members of the ES to load information of the lot (name of the producer, land tenure, date of planting, among others). Therefore, we are working on linking this information with the cotton traceability system since the ES would cover most of the producers, with the use of this application being an obligation for the control of the pest. On these organisms (ES) both the province of Santiago del Estero, Chaco and Santa Fe have begun with their implementation waiting for the rest of the cotton provinces to adapt and adopt this modality to their needs and requirements. d) Seed INASE. For his part, it should be highlighted the National Seed Institute (INASE) Resolution No. 579/2017 that allows both greater and better control, as well as inspection of seed for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), both natural and legal persons an affidavit in the INASE's Seed User Registry. Among other things, said legislation mentions that in this way it will be possible to establish all information about the legal origin of the seed used and the reserved one as an "exception of the farmer", in the terms of Article 27 of Law No It provides that the authorization of the breeder of a protected plant variety is not required when a farmer reserves and uses as seed on his holding the harvested product. This initiative also allows to improve the genetic quality of the seed. e) Control of cotton Boll Weevil. The ministry of Agroindustry is working jointly with the SENASA in actions that allow to assure the objectives of the Sanitary Entities to control the plague of the cotton boll weevil. One of these guidelines was to establish the regionalization to control the pest at the Meeting of the National Cotton Assembly on June 29 and 30, determining dates of sowing, Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 13

14 stubble destruction and phytosanitary void. This measure stipulates that these dates were approved taking into account the area and not the provinces. In this way, and concluding, we can say that with the aforementioned initiatives, the pillars on which the current government intends to advance are: Health (through health entities) Quality of fiber (through PROCALGODÓN) Genetics (Through the Single Register of Cotton seed RUS). 6. EXPORTS Traditionally Argentina was characterized by being an exporter of cotton, reaching in the year 2016, according to SENASA data, about 135,500 tons. The destinations where the largest volume of cotton fiber was exported were South Korea (38,458 tons) and Indonesia (16,051 tons). Also, we must mention that a large percentage of this volume corresponds to grains with 67,165 tons (49%) and fiber 45,842 tons (34%). Of the former, about 38,000 tons are exported to South Korea, followed by just over 8,000 tons destined for Saudi Arabia; while fiber the main destination is Indonesia with slightly more than 13,100 tons, followed by Colombia with approximately 7,500 tons. Among other by-products exported are Pellets with 11,160 tons, basically divided between Uruguay and Paraguay; cotton wool with 9,963 tons, where Indonesia and Turkey are positioned as the biggest destination, linter with 1,286 tons being China is the only country that receives that production and seed with 26 tons destined for Spain. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 14

15 Graph No. 6. Source: Statistical Coordination - Foreign Trade Statistics Office - SENASA. Prepared by the of Cotton Coordination. Graph No. 7. Source: Statistical Coordination - Foreign Trade Statistics Office - SENASA. Prepared by the Cotton Coordination. In general terms we can infer that of the total fiber exported in 2016, just over 80% goes to Asia and Oceania; while more than 18% is distributed in the Americas. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 15

16 7. IMPORTS In contrast, Argentina has not historically been characterized as an importing country of large quantities of cotton fiber. For some periods the import trend has increased, generally responding to the supply of domestic demand, when local production, for climatic reasons, failed to meet the needs of domestic industry. Last year, by way of example, more than 4,000 tons of cotton fiber were imported from Brazil as a whole. In addition, 31 tons of seed were imported in lesser quantities, having as origin Paraguay with 26 tones and the United States with 5 tones; while 10 tons of linter from Great Britain entered. 8. PROSPECT FOR THE 2017/18 CAMPAIGN With the different works that are being carried out to perfect the agricultural practices, an increase of the cotton area in Argentina is predicted for the 2017/18 season; in tune with this increase are intended to improve the yields obtained by, for example, the implementation of Sanitary Entities that will allow to control the advance of the plague of the cotton boll weevil. However, we must mention that in making this estimate we cannot stop being alien and consider the climatic variable as a determining factor when evaluating the agricultural behavior of the crop. Therefore, the effectiveness of the fight against the pest; as well as price levels and agrometeorological conditions at the time of sowing will be decisive factors for cotton and its upward projection against competing crops such as soybean and sunflower. If these projections are confirmed in terms of area sown and its production, it is assumed an increase in exports; while still being considered a percentage of imported fiber with specific parameters for the production of certain yarns. For harvests, it is expected to increase the use of picker harvesters, given that the quality of the raw cotton obtained is that required by the spinning mill, since the fiber harvested with this modality responds to the parameters requested by the Federation of Textile Industries; also would continue recommending the use of equipment stripper with pre cleaning because with these characteristics the fiber collected is of good quality. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 16

17 9. CONSUMPTION The domestic consumption of cotton fiber in Argentina in the last ten years has been fluctuating, as can be seen in the table below. There, it can be seen that in 2011 the highest consumption value of the analyzed period was reached with 403,590 tons; while in 2009 the lowest consumption was recorded with 284,146 tones. The evolution was as follows: YEARS * CONSUMPTION (en tn) Table 3. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. Provisional figures. Graph Nº 8. Source: FADIT-FITA. Provisional figures. Prepared by the Cotton Coordination. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 17

18 10. TEXTILE INDUSTRY In this point includes information on the sector of the Argentine textile industry. For more details see item 9. Participation of the Textile Industry in the GDP and in the Industrial GP. Expressed in (%) 2007 * 2008 * 2009 * 2010 * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016 * Gross Production Value Textile 0,9% 0,8% 0,8% 0.9% 0,9% 0,8% 0,8% 0,8% 0,7% 0,7% Textile + Clothing 1,8% 1,7% 1,7% 1,8% 1,8% 1,7% 1,7% 1,6% 1,6% 1,5% Gross Value of Industrial Production Textile 2,7% 2,4% 2,4% 2,6% 2,5% 2,3% 2,2% 2,5% 2,3% 2,2% Textile + Clothing 5,4% 5,1% 5,2% 5,4% 5,4% 5,0% 4,9% 5,0% 4,8% 4,6% Table No. 4. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. a) Per capita consumption of Textiles in Argentina (kg./habitant.)* Year Kg per inhabitant , , , , , , , , , ,69 Table 5. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. b) Fiber consumption. (+) 2007* 2008* 2009* 2010* 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* Cotton Fiber Washed wool Manufactured Fibers TOTAL Table 6. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. The figures are all expressed in tons and are provisional. c) Utilization of the installed capacity of the textile industry. Total estimate of the textile-confectionary chain (Average). AÑO 2007* 2008* 2009* 2010* 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* 6M 2017* (%) 79,2% 78,2% 75,2% 83,5% 78,2% 78,8% 76,4% 76,0% 67,7% 68,0% 57,0% Table 7. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 18

19 d) External Market Imports Cotton and Blends. Yarns Flat Woven Fabrics Knitwear Imports of cotton and mixtures. (1) (#) 2007* 2008* 2009* 2010* 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* 6M 2017* In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 31,8 37,9 8,5 20, ,1 22,4 13,8 17,8 17,2 5,2 In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 134,6 156,4 91, ,6 109,9 113,7 99,8 94,8 101,2 42,9 In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 9,6 12,3 5,1 23,4 30, ,9 12,3 12,7 11,7 5,4 Table 8. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. Exports - Cotton and Blends. Yarns Flat Woven Fabrics Knitwear Exports of cotton and mixtures. (1) (#) 2007* 2008* 2009* 2010* 2011* 2012* 2013* 2014* 2015* 2016* 6M 2017* In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 18,5 20,1 16,7 19,9 34,5 13,3 14,6 27,1 11,9 9,8 5,4 In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 14,8 14,4 5,2 4,9 4,9 3,2 1,5 4,1 1,9 1,1 2,5 In tonnes Millions of dollars (US$) 3,2 4,2 2,7 4 4,7 3 1,7 1,2 1 0,6 0,4 Table 9. Source: FADIT-FITA. According of calendar years. Ministerio de Agroindustria - República Argentina 19