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Dear Members,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you to all of you who have come from far away, to attend our cotton meeting in Deauville. All the global cotton community took part at this wondeful moment.
The Association Française Cotonnière, which was celebrating its 132 th anniversary , met in Deauville on thursday 6th and friday October 7th.
Over 300 people from five continents attended our event.
Every year, for at least half a century, the AFCOT forum has brought together all the players in the international cotton sector. Traders, producers, exporters, controllers, freight forwarders, but also banks, shipping companies, insurance companies, professional federations, institutions or research institutes: each contributes to present the different facets of the cotton sector, its trades, its developments and its outlook.
For two days, the world cotton focused the AFCOT forum.
Participants gathered on friday for a welcome cocktail.
Friday began with a seminar offered by the French Cotton Association and the African Cotton Association. The debates were moderated by the President of AFCOT, Mr. Charles Jannet.
Mr. Michael EDWARDS, Director at COTTON OUTLOOK, Mr. Tim BARTHOLOMEEUSEN, in charge of WAF for OOCL and Mr. Laurent BUREL, CEO of SORETEX.
To find their presentation as well as all the photos of the different times of these days, go to the new AFCOT website in the section “Our events” then Deauville 2022.
All the participants were then invited to a convivial net working lunch. In the afternoon, AFCOT created new filmed interview feature that you will soon find on the website. The fternoon was also devoted to meetings with CMiA- Better Cotton exchange, before all the participants met for the cocktail party at the beginning of the evening, followed by the gala dinner.
In his speech, the President of AFCOT recalled the key events of this cotton year as well as those of our association. His speech is also available on our website.
Our guest of honour, M. Henri Eli Monceau, Director of the Economic and Digital Francophonie of the International Organisation of the Francophonie, gave us a unifying speech.
The President, the board or Directors and the General Secretariat of AFCOT would like to thank very warmly the speakers as well as all those who honoured us with their presence.
The AFCOT Forum is a large family that meets anually but works all year round. A beehive at work. A quality event. A renewed organizational feat!
AFCOT forum in Deauville, 6th et 7th october 2022
Speech of Mr Charles JANNET
Mesdames, Messieurs,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening.
Allow me to interrupt you very briefly in order to welcome you here this evening. We are truly honored by your presence at the forum of the French Cotton Association.
A warm welcome to you all and to my counterparts from the many cotton associations present this evening.
I would like to thank our three speakers from this morning and this afternoon.
I would also like to thank Mr. Henri MONCEAU of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Your presence this evening is an honor for our association.
It is a pleasure each year to welcome you to our traditional AFCOT forum in Deauville, following a full day of seminars, presentations and exchanges. This year, we are proud to host more than 310 participants, from forty countries representing all the continents.
This forum is one of those great traditions of conviviality that we all love.
A year ago, almost to the day, we were gathered in this same city to experience one of AFCOT’s high points. During a short respite from Covid, we succeeded in organizing and attending the only in-person international cotton event of the year in the entire northern hemisphere. What a feat!
At that time, however, we clearly had no idea what the following year would bring.
What a year 2022 has been! The year is not yet over, but the least we can say is that it has been full of surprises. But I will circle back to this in a moment.
On behalf of the AFCOT Management Committee, I would like to thank you for having honored us by coming, often from very far away, to take part in this day of seminars and reflections.
It is customary for the President of AFCOT to draw up a picture of the situation of the cotton market over the past year and to take the risk of embarking on some forward-looking considerations. I do not wish to depart from tradition, although this exercise seems to me to be very daring indeed.
The 2020-2021 cotton season was initially marked by a market that climbed on the back of a sector out of stock in a context of strong growth. Last year, we exceeded the 100 usc/lb mark and gradually rose to 150 usc/lb in July. Everything was going well until the energy crisis and galloping inflation forced the central banks to act by curbing the economy, while the worst drought in 10 years in the United States brought additional volatility to the markets… The big question today is the level of demand, which is somewhat sluggish throughout the world, in a context that is very prone to exogenous and macroeconomic shocks.
The picture I have just painted of the cotton industry during the past year is a little bleak to say the least. And yet, I would like to share my joy with you.
My joy at being able to address you here tonight and to see you all gathered here once again. My joy and my pride in the profession that is ours.
Look, look at me and imagine… This cotton ball is the image of our world, its seas and continents… We are the image of the world!
Our profession is made up of people, of encounters, of close and distant places, of differences, but also of similarities and understanding.
The AFCOT has been in existence for 132 years; I know it is respected; I want it, like my predecessors, to be modern and adapted to our current realities. Together with you, we are working to make it evolve.
My presidency will come to an end in a few months and this is the moment for me to thank the AFCOT team. Each person, in their own way and with their own personal sensitivity, has been actively involved in the functioning of our association. I would like to express the pleasure, the joy and the honor that I have had to work with each and every one of them and to chair this Association.
A particularly warm thanks to our Secretary General, Emmanuelle DUCLOS and Brigitte HOULLIER, for their expertise, passion and skill.
I would like to thank all of you for your attention and I look forward to seeing you in Monte Carlo on October 4th and 5th 2023 You will be welcomed by a new President, Mr Laurent Peyre, our current Vice-President to whom I wish the best of success.
Once again, many thanks to you all and enjoy the evening.
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