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PH: DR; Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, Minister of Industry and Trade
Monday October 7, 2024 opens in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, World Cotton Day. Organized under the patronage of HE Patrice TALON, President of the Republic of Benin and Mrs. Alimatou Shadiya ASSOUMA, Minister of Industry and Trade. The highlight of the 2024 edition, apart from the presence of the Director General of the World Trade Organization (DG/WTO), Ms Ngozi OKONJO IWEALA, her staff and the Deputy Director of the International Trade Center – ITC ),
the big one anticipated global cotton community in Cotonou.
Alan ASANKPON
Celebrated every October 7 of the year, the World Cotton Day is an initiative that aims to promote the importance of the natural fiber of Cotton, which is essential for many economies, especially the Group of Four at WTO level and especially those from African countries .
World Cotton Day is a regional event of the Group of Four, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad to which Ivory Coast has been added to respond to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 75/318 which declare October 7 as World Cotton Day on. August 30, 2021.
In this edition, Benin will show the world the structural transformation requested by the United Nations through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on national value chains made from cash crops. A visit to the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) will highlight concrete achievements: from cotton production to sustainable textiles through the various spinning mills. The event will also allow the Beninese Government to recognize, not only, the social and economic impact of cotton production in the rural communities where it is grown and processed; but above all his contribution to the global textile industry.
Hence the importance of Cotton in international trade, in particular, its production and all the products related to it, its transformation, its marketing and in the end, its consumption. A value chain that is directly aligned with the achievement of the SDGs on almost all targets 17. Certainly, there are challenges associated with it, especially in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), cotton producers, to name a few, the Group of Four.
According to Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, Minister of Industry and Trade, Benin will spare no effort for the success of this event that will bring together the global cotton community in Cotonou. “Benin is honored to have been a leader in the sub-region in the field for almost a decade. Since 2016, the Government of President Patrice Talon put his foot on the accelerator to bring cotton production to a higher level. Cotton production reached nearly 700,000 tons, placing Benin in the history of the region. It therefore passes Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo and takes first place in the ranking of the best cotton producers in the sub-region.
Ph/DR: “the cotton sector in Benin represents 40% of the currency, 12 to 13% of GDP, about 60% of the national industrial fabric…”
In fact, “the cotton sector in Benin represents 40% of the currency, 12 to 13% of GDP, about 60% of the national industrial fabric and provides income to more than a third of the the people It directly and indirectly employs more than 2 million people and contributes significantly to the reduction of poverty, the satisfaction of educational and health needs, thus participating in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals” affirms Minister of Industry and Commerce.
Certainly, the Covid19 pandemic has slowed down the movement of the sector in the meantime, putting forecasts in the field at risk. “It is even more so that the implementation of the Cotton Road Program will require the support, contribution and commitment of all stakeholders to overcome the disappointments caused by the pandemic.”
World Cotton Day in question…
Announced on October 7 by Resolution 75/318 of the United Nations General Assembly on August 30, 2021; the first edition of the World Cotton Day was held in Geneva in 2019. It was hosted by the World Trade Organization (WTO), and co-organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Food Organization and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO), the International Trade Center (ICC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (Icac). The 3rd edition was organized by UNIDO at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria in October 2023. So Benin, a country in the south, an LDC and a member of the Group of Four, is hosting the Sixth edition 2024.
