Despite all the diversity of Brazilian cotton farming, the commitment to quality, responsibility in the production and traceability of bales is a characteristic in the country. This was the perception that predominated in another stage of the “Buyers Mission”, a commercial exchange carried out by the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (Abrapa) - which this year mobilized 21 representatives from the global textile industry.
This week, the delegation passed through the state of Bahia, visiting two farms in the municipality of São Desidério: Warpol, from the Busato group, and Nossa Senhora do Carmo, owned by Dirceu Montani. The agenda also included the Fiber Analysis Center of the Bahian Association of Cotton Producers (Abapa), in Luís Eduardo Magalhães.
At the Warpol farm, Chinese Qi Zhang closely followed the traceability process. “Cotton samples are removed as soon as they come out of the press. Each sample has a corresponding specific number, which is the same number that goes on the bale, in the QR Code. So it really is bale-by-bale traceability”, he highlighted.
The “whiteness” of the Bahian feather also stood out to Zhang. “At the shipping stage, the bales are all separated uniformly, which is very good for us in the textile industry. But what caught my attention the most is how white Bahian cotton is,” he commented.
Júlio Busato, former president of Abrapa and co-owner of the Warpol farm, welcomed the mission delegation with open arms. “It is a pleasure to welcome managers from the global textile industry to our farm so that they can see up close the professionalism of cotton producers in Bahia. It’s an honor for us,” he said. On the Bahian farm it was possible to check the use of irrigation. Today, only 8% of the Brazilian planted area irrigates some stage of the production process.
Alexandre Schenkel, president of Abrapa, explains that in Brazil irrigation is not the predominant technique. “We make the most of naturally available water because our focus is responsible production and the rational use of natural resources. But when it is necessary, irrigation enters intelligently, in the fields where it is really needed”, he commented.
The delegation also visited the structure where the new headquarters and the new cotton analysis laboratory of the Bahian Association of Cotton Producers (Abapa) will be located. According to the president of Abapa, Luiz Carlos Bergamaschi, the analysis capacity will be doubled from 2025.
During today (1), the “Buyers Mission” visits Goiás and heads to Brasília (DF). The delegation brings together representatives from the textile industries of Bangladesh, China, South Korea, the United States, Honduras, India, Pakistan and Turkey. This year, the exchange is in its eighth edition – the first took place in 2015.
The “Mission Buyers” is one of the actions of Cotton Brazil, an initiative that represents the Brazilian cotton production sector internationally. Coordinated by Abrapa, the program is carried out in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and is supported by Anea. The mission is carried out in conjunction with the state associations of cotton producers in Mato Grosso (Ampa), Bahia (Abapa) and Goiás (Agopa).
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