June 4, 1999

The U.S. Cotton Council International will showcase U.S. cotton June 7-16 to senior executives of 10 Turkish textile manufacturing operations. The Turkish executives will tour several U.S. cotton facilities during their visit. The United States exported 638,000 bales of cotton to Turkey last year.

U.S. cotton officials say the purpose of the trade mission is to illustrate the quality of U.S. cotton and the industry's reliability in marketing. Turkey is the world's fifth largest cotton consuming country and is expected to consume about 4 million bales this year.

"Although Turkey is a large cotton producing country, it regularly imports cotton to supply its growing textile industry," said CCI President Paul Ruh. "That's why we're giving these valuable customers an in-depth look at the U.S. cotton infrastructure. We believe this is an important step toward expanding U.S. cotton exports to this rapidly emerging market."

The group will begin its tour with a seminar at Cotton Incorporated's headquarters in Raleigh, NC, June 7. A visit to Memphis June 8-9 will include seminars with the National Cotton Council and the American Cotton Shippers Association and a visit to USDA's cotton classing office in Bartlett, TN.

While in Texas June 10-11, they will tour the American Cotton Growers denim mill, meet with cotton producers and shippers at seminars sponsored by the Lubbock Cotton Exchange, Plains Cotton Growers Association and the Texas Cotton Association in Dallas. In California they will meet with AMCOT, the Western Cotton Shippers Association and tour a farm and gin operation.

The tour concludes June 16 in Washington, DC, with a visit with USDA officials and with officials of the National Cotton Council.