De: Laura Nocentini
Envoyé: mercredi 16 avril 2014 18:39
À: 'Michele Anselme'
Objet: RE: EU COMMISSION DG AGRI:
EVALUATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL POLICIES FOR COTTON IN THE EU
Madame Anselme,
Je vous remercie d’avoir pris le
temps d’une réponse écrite à nos questions. Nous allons regarder votre document
de près dans les jours à venir et reviendrons vers vous si besoin.
Cordialement,
Laura Nocentini
De : Michele Anselme [mailto:michele.anselme@eurocoton.org]
Envoyé : samedi 12 avril 2014 08:57
À : Laura Nocentini
Cc : e.deniel@oreade-breche.fr;
Andreas.Kolodziejak@ec.europa.eu;
Nikos KARAGIORGOS; siarkos.a@gmail.com;
adon@stiafilco.com; AEDA; dimas; HACOT
Benoît
Objet : RE: EU COMMISSION DG AGRI: EVALUATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL
POLICIES FOR COTTON IN THE EU
Importance : Haute
Dear Madam Nocentini,
As requested, please find hereafter Eurocoton comment on issues raised in the frame of the evaluation study on new EU CAP support scheme for cotton commissioned by DG AGRI to OREADE-BRECHE. Please note that Eurocoton consulted the EU Cotton Ginners and Exporters Associations in Greece and Spain which are directly concerned in Eurocoton membership by the subject under investigation, and more particularly with EU experts on cotton delegated in the “Industry Group” of DG AGRI Advisory Group on Cotton, on behalf of Eurocoton. Please consider however that so far only the Spanish Cotton Ginning Industry provided detailed input and that Eurocoton is still waiting for comments from the Greek cotton ginners and exporters Association’s side. Thus, additional comments, if any of a new nature, might follow on top of the present ones.
EU
quality of cotton is much higher than the international quality standard for
cotton
The cotton produced in the EU has always been considered of good quality
by the European textile manufacturers who require cotton of the highest quality
to be able to compete internationally, although there is always room for
improvement. Since 2006, the new EU scheme has aimed at improving quality
further by means of specific additional incentives, initially regulated by art.
69 of Regulation ( EC) No 1782/ 2003 and from 2010, by direct aid under art. 68
of Regulation (EC ) No 73 / 2009. In Spain, this aid benefits to more than 95 %
of its production of cotton which is controlled at 100%.
In the last few years, it has to be pointed out that an always larger
percentage of cotton cultivation both in Spain and in Greece was developed
under integrated production programs with favorable effects on the environment
and on the productivity of cotton cultivation. Everybody in the EU cotton
sector agreed that additional efforts should again be made to this direction.
The price
paid for cotton is built annually on the basis of the international price
of the product (the highest is the international price, the lowest will be the
EU aid, and conversely). On the other hand, when the prices of cotton are at
high level compared with other competitive crops like wheat or corn, the period
is positive for the EU cotton farmers, as their main purpose is to maintain a
strategic level of cultivation of cotton in the European Union.
As for innovation, it is noteworthy that cotton farming method is highly
intensive/mechanized as a result of constant modernization: selected seeds ,
specific agricultural machinery, modern high capacity ginning , etc. In recent
years, remarkable innovations have been introduced as cultivating long fiber,
testing organic farming and the biological control of major pests of the crop.
The latter two techniques are still under Research and Development, so much
remains experimental before being used more widely.
The added value of cotton in the EU is derived from the following
aspects :
--the intrinsic quality: dry cotton, no impurities, fiber characteristics, etc.
--the environmental quality: cotton with no plastic residues, limited use of
agrochemicals and other inputs, etc.
--the social aspects: quality cotton in the EU provide long-term job security
directly to an increasing highly skilled workforce in the capital intensive
ginning industry sector and indirectly to a large number of allied activities
and services sectors;
--or other aspects such as the fact that there are no use of genetically
modified cotton varieties.
The challenge facing the sector is exactly to highlight the value added,
to ensure commercially the constant specialization of this product in order to
get higher price in the future and finally for the marketing of the product, to
know exactly which criteria value properly the product to get market
recognition in the EU.
EU cotton producers have to take advantage of their proximity to
serve properly and just in time highly developed and innovative yarns and
fabrics manufacturers requiring cotton of the highest quality: quality cotton
produced in Europe should be valued as an additional competitive advantage for
textile manufacturing in the EU in comparison with third countries’ cotton.
Although the EU cotton sector has improved, the sector, most particularly
in Spain, complaints that it has not yet been able to position itself in
perspective in relation to the EU, and in particular to the Spanish textile
manufacturers.
Issues
for European cotton and cotton textiles in EU
Everyone understands that European farmers in cotton
cannot compete with low-cost countries such as China, India, Pakistan on the
one hand and the United States of America on the other who grant huge aids to
the domestic production of cotton. Another detrimental factor is the strong
EURO against the US dollar; everywhere in the world, cotton is quoted in
dollars, thus EU cotton ginners earn less and less EURO for their cotton.
If we want the cotton industry to be
sustainable, aid must remain linked to production. The reformed cotton scheme
adopted in June 2008 has maintained 65% of the aid “decoupled” (i.e. no longer
linked to the production) and 35% linked to cotton production in the form of
area payments. Beside, production of cotton in the EU is subject to rather
strict environmental constraints that will even be increased as from 2015
(compliance to green farming). Environmental rules are very demanding
(increased costs), and of course much more demanding than in the majority of
third countries where cotton fibres are sourced. In fact, EU cotton quality is
very close to what is considered as organic cotton (biological cotton) in the
international arena.
The competitive advantages of EU cotton should thus be promoted in the EU
market, notably by an EU quality cotton origin labeling all along the
production chain (from fibre up to the garment) that could help to reward the
efforts of the sector and justify a slightly higher price in the EU supply
chain.
In Spain, the cotton sector claims for the establishment of an integrated
organization from farming, ginning, spinning up to weaving (Inter-branch
organisation) which missions could be:
--to define common quality standard for the fibre, convenient delivery
conditions, etc.
--to ensure research and innovation to the benefit of all the cotton pipeline,
--to promote the quality of the fibre produced in the EU
Issues
for EU agricultural policy regarding cotton production
The successive reforms of the CAP undertaken in recent years have led to a simplification of payments and their homogenization. However, these developments have taken into account the specificity of certain EU sectors, such as cotton. Indeed, this crop is protected by the Protocols of Accession of Greece, Spain and Portugal to the European Community and it relies on a crop-specific payment. This regime is designed to encourage a competitive, sustainable and market-driven cotton sector, while safeguarding the legal commitments of supporting “the production of cotton in regions of the Community where it is important for the agricultural economy”.
The EU cotton, with only two countries with significant production, can rely on a specific Advisory Group given its great specificity. The annual meetings of this group provide for the producers, ginning industry and trade in cotton fibre a very direct means of communication with the European Commission, which is needed and highly valued by the sector.
In addition, the quality of the cotton fibre produced in the EU is acknowledged by the operators. This is why, in the context of the EU quality policy, the European Commission should seize the opportunity of developing a quality brand of sustainable EU cotton so as to enhance the value of this product. This should be developed in particular in consultation with the key stakeholders during the meetings of the Advisory Group.
The inclusion of cotton in a wider and horizontal advisory group or with other crops (Arable crops) will significantly harm the interests of this community sector. In such an advisory group, the specificities of the crop will be diluted and thereby its importance for the regions in which it is produced. Therefore, the sector request that in the context of the setting up of the civil dialogue groups a specific group for the cotton sector is maintained.” Extract of a recent letter (dd. 20 January 2014) send by the Chairman, Jesus Valencia (COPA-COGECA) and Vice-Chairman, Nikos Karagiorgos (EUROCOTON), of the AG on Cotton to the Director General of DG AGRI, which is self-explanatory on the present situation of the sector with respect to the EU policy regarding cotton production.
Should
the branding of EU production be improved?
Yes, everything mentioned above has stressed the significant importance of an
improvement of EU cotton branding. This is one of the main challenges facing
the sector at Community level, to assert the specificities of EU cotton
compared to cotton from third countries.
What
would be the consequences should EU cotton production disappear?
The
cotton sector is of considerable socio-economic importance in the two main
producing Member States: about 90% of the EU total output is grown in Greece,
the balance being mainly grown in Spain, Bulgaria producing only a small
quantity of cotton and Portugal being no longer cotton grower. The sector
provides direct employment for some 150.000 families in the primary sector in
the EU and for about 100.000 individuals in the secondary sector (cotton
textile, starting from the ginning sector), without taking in account jobs
indirectly depending of the sector in services sector, as figures are not
available. Internationally, the EU is a minor player, contributing for about 1%
of the World total production of cotton. This implies also that the impact of
EU production on the evolution of world market prices have been negligible.
This is further strengthenend by the fact that the EU does not use export
subsidies for this sector and offers duty free access on cotton imports from
outside the EU.
Most particularly, the impact assessment of the disappearance of the cotton
sector in Spain, could be detailed as follows. The Spanish cotton is developed
mainly in Andalusia , particularly in areas close to rivers (in the
Guadalquivir Valley and, to a lesser extent, in the valleys of the Genil and
Guadalete, on the coast of Cadiz and in the countryside of Sevilla). In all these
areas, cotton is characterized as a strategic culture from both an economic and
social perspective for the following reasons :
-- Services to support the work of growing, harvesting , transportation,
ginning , etc. The workforce generates by cotton crop itself and in the
downstream chain is by far superior to other crops’ alternatives, most
particularly in the corn and irrigated sunflower sectors. The strategic nature
of this issue is dramatic if one considers the already very high levels of
unemployment in Spain, and particularly in Andalucía.
--Largely developed in highly saline soils areas where there are just not
enough profitable alternative crops.
The EU cotton aid scheme is therefore much
needed for the following reasons :
-- The international price (including in the years with high prices) is still
insufficient to allow cotton cultivation without assistance of the EU. Cotton
is also subject to a huge price volatility.
-- With the disappearance of cotton production in the EU, should the EU no
longer support it, the EU ginning industry would no longer be allowed to
provide a good quality of cotton fibres required by the EU cotton spinning to
be able to compete internationally. EU cotton ginning would have no other
alternative to total import dependence. However such a scenario is at very
short view, as it would prove very rapidly to be no longer a viable industry as
it could not compete in normal conditions of competition with imported ginned
cotton (fibres) from low- cost and subsidized third countries.
Please do not hesitate to ask for additional information if it is needed. For your convenience, I’ am also putting in copy of this E-mail Eurocoton experts either in Greece or in Spain, on top of Eurocoton President (last one) for his own proper information.
With best regards,
Michèle ANSELME
Secretary General
EUROCOTON
24, rue Montoyer - Bte 13
B-1000 Brussels
Tel : 32-2-230 32 39
Fax : 32-2-230 36 22
E-mail: michele.anselme@eurocoton.org
EC Register Number / EUROCOTON - European Federation of Cotton and Allied Textiles Industries 84723161705-62
Dans l’attente de votre réponse, meilleurs vœux.
E-mail: michele.anselme@eurocoton.org