TN/AG/SCC/W/42  
WT/CFMC/68  
 
6 September  2022 
(22-6651) Page: 1/7 
Sub-Committee on Cotton    
 
REPORT - INFORMATION SESSION ON SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION S 
AFFECTING COTTON EXPORTS FROM  LDCS  
11 MAY 2022  
1  INTRODUCTION  
The Chairperson, Deputy Director -General Jean -Marie Paugam, opened the  information 
session  by referr ing to the 21 March 2022  WTO Forum on Global Supply Chain . He noted that the  
COVID -19 pandemic  had caused  persistent disruption s to global  supply chain s. 
He referred to r ecent  trends  in key LDC trade and economic performance indicators, such as a  
35% decline in LDCs' services exports and a 12 % drop in their merchandise exports in 2020 , 
compared with the previous year . Regarding cotton specifically,  he noted that  in West Africa the 
impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic were  particularly pervasive , causing  significant disruption s to 
production - and trade -related operations, exacerbated by long-standing supply chain disruptions 
resulting from congested ports, shipping logjams, increased freigh t rates  and transit time,  and 
shortages  containers, human resources and other important trade -enabling factors .  
He reported that these supply chain disruptions had started with the firs t wave of the COVID -19 
pandemic and lasted until the present time, and  noted the  34% 2020 drop in cotton  export s y.o.y. 
which had caused a loss of more than USD 500 million, compared to 2019 , in a group of 10 cotton 
producing LDCs , as reported in a recent  WTO study  on the impacts of the COVID -19 pandemic1. 
He highlighted the difficulties  related to  fibre sto rage reported by many stakeholders.  For 
example, w hile cotton production in LDCs had recovered in 2021, reaching again pre -pandemic 
levels,  the costs associated with keeping  the stocks of cotton fibre at export hubs in good conditions  
had increased significantly, with cotton produced in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons 
essentially being shipped together in 2021.  
 He recalled that the recent WTO study2 also containe d reports as to how  supply chain 
disruptions came from a global repositioning of fleets operated by maritime companies, as well as 
overall increased freight costs. Cotton companies  in LDCs as well as international traders had no 
alternative than to wait for the shipping lines  to confirm their availability to perform relevant services 
at any given price . 
He explained how data collection work leading to the  recent  WTO study  had confirmed the 
overall difficulty linked to data collection on indicators describ ing aggregate trends in  cotton 
transport  and shipment , including  costs, delays,  and relevant logistics . The present information 
session  would constitute a unique opportunity  to collect data and case stories from national and 
international stakeholders  able to  shed light on those indicators . 
2  INTERVENTION BY THE COORDINATOR OF THE GROUP C -4 
H.E. Ambassador  Sougouri  of Burkina Faso  took the floor  on behalf of the C-4 countries . 
 
1 See https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/covidinpactstudyc4ldcscotton_e.pdf . 
2 See idem: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/covidinpactstudyc4ldcscotton_e.pdf . TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 2 - 
 
  
He began  his intervention by recalling  the severity of the  COVID -19 pandemic . Several studies, 
including the one carried out by the WTO  Secretariat  in November 2021, showed eloquent statistics 
on the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic  on the cotton sector in LDCs .  
He emphasized that COVID -19 ha d led to a drop in per capita  GDP in the LDCs , as well as to  
the decline of  cotton  prices against higher export -related costs . This ha d caused revenue losses  for 
the African  cotton sector , which already face d unfair  conditions of competition on international 
markets , he noted . This also h ad direct impacts on the livelihoods of millions of people in cotton 
producing and exporting LDCs . 
He welcomed the overall  improvement of the  COVID -19 pandemic  related situation in LDCs  
over the past few months,  but still noted that  the crisis ha d deeply i mpacted the cotton sector  in 
those countries . The C-4 wished to use th e session to ask development partners to help them find 
a lasting  and sustainable solution to the challenges faced by  the cotton sector in LDCs, therefore 
helping them to build a stronge r and more resilient econom y able to  face current and future 
adversities .  
He concluded by noting that the present information session  was a logical cotton -specific follow 
up to the WTO  meeting on Global Supply Chain Disruptions, held on the 21st of March 2022, and 
paved the way towards  the upcoming Partners Conference for LDCs , which would be held as part of 
the Global Review of  Aid-for-Trade  on 27 July 2022 . He suggested that  these events should lead to 
a WTO roadmap to reduce disruptions in the  cotton supply chain,  thus improving the post -pandemic 
economic recovery.  He also thanked all the partners for their availability to continuously help the 
LDCs in cotton sector development  activities .  
3  OVERVIEW OF THE CHALLENGES FACING GLOBAL COTTON INDUST RY LOGISTICS:  
PRESENTATION BY MR. KANWAR USMAN, TEXTILE PROGRAMME MANAGER , ICAC  
Mr. Usman  introduced his presentation  by explaining that,  since the pandemic ha d started to 
wind down, there ha d been exciting developments for all agricultural commodities. Ag riculture prices 
were high, and demand was robust. However, supply chain challenges continue d to be a problem 
and ha d been made much worse by the COVID -19 pandemic.  
He provided further  context by explaining how at the start of the COVID -19 pandemic, demand 
for cotton plummeted  and spinners decided to reduce their stocks rather than buy additional raw 
material , as the world economic outlook and the impact of the pandemic were very unclear  at that 
time. However, as the situation calmed down, fabric and textile demand recovered faster than 
expected, as textile manufacturers partially reactivated their spinning operations in the second half 
of 2020.  
He reminded participants that the textile value chain  was very long and complex. Cotton fibre 
could be produced in one country and shipped to another country to be spun into thread or yarn, 
depending on its final use. Yarn was made into fabric and then shipped to a garment manufacturing 
facility . Cotton move d from countries such as the USA, Brazil, India, Australia,  West Africa  and other 
major producers to wards  countries such as China, Bangladesh, Viet  nam, Türkiye , and Pakistan . 
Cotton was then transformed into garments and home textiles, before being shippe d to its final 
destinations.  
He underlined that the COVID -19 pandemic had brought many collateral hindrances , such as 
the disruption of maritime shipping and air freight services, leading to cancelled deliveries, port 
delays, and container shortages.  
He no ted that the issues brought by the  COVID -19 pandemic  were not specific  to ports, but 
also affected  the full supply chain , including inland trucking and warehousing. The cotton and textile 
value chain were not just dependent on raw materials , but also on ancillary  physical capital  and 
economic infrastructure  such as textile machinery, spare parts, accessories, dyes,  and chemi cals, 
adding up to cotton production inputs  such as fertilisers and pesticides.  
He stressed that the pandemic ha d caused imbalances in supply and demand in the shipping 
sector and pushed up freight rates. For instance, calculated for  a standard 40 -foot con tainer, the 
global FBX (Freightos Baltic Index) rose from 1,461  USD at the start of 2020 to a high of 11,109  USD TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 3 - 
 
  in September 2021, before dipping to 8,955 USD at the  end of April 2022. The shipping sector was 
expected to continue growing  in the future, thanks to rising consumer demand and online shopping. 
However, the limited increase in the number of new vessels w as insufficient to meet short -term 
market demand.  Furthermore, the global maritime transport market face d new international 
regulatory measures , to be implemented in 2023 , to reduce pollution and improve energy efficiency. 
As a result, shipping companies were likely to purchase new ships given the high costs of refitting 
and upgrading their existing vessels ' engines and equipment . 
He reminded that  transportation was one of the major factors affecting the competitiveness of 
any cotton -exporting country. One of the biggest problems facing the cotton sector , especially in 
cotton exporting countries , was delivering cotton fibre to the spinners in a timely  and cost-effective 
manner.  
He noted that a gricultural commodity prices ha d increased to or exceeded levels not seen since 
the commodity price spike of 2011 . Cotton prices ha d surged by nearly 78% since January  2021, 
reach ing levels not seen in more  than a decade. The huge price rise ha d been fuelled  by three main 
factors , in his view : optimism regarding demand, lower ending stocks, and speculative interests.  
But farmers ha d also been affected in parallel by higher fertiliser prices , resulting in pa rticular 
from energy prices peak in particular natural gas, thus reducing their profit margins significantly . 
While cotton prices, which were 1.67 USD per kg at the end of 2019, had increased to 3.42  USD 
per kg in April 2022, di-ammonium phosphate  fertilizer price increased from  238 USD per ton ne at 
the end of 2019  to 954 USD per ton ne in April 2022.  During the same period, the price of u rea 
climbed from  218 USD per ton ne to 925 USD per ton ne and potasch  from 266 USD per ton ne to 
536 USD per ton ne.  
Furthermore, higher prices for food -related crops impl ied greater competition for planting 
areas. According to the United Nations ' Food and Agricultural Organization  (FAO) , the global food 
price index set a new all -time high in March  2022. The index was 3 3% higher than a year  before .  
He then referred to  US apparel sales, which remain ed resilient despite record -level inflation  
rates. According to the US Census Bureau, US apparel retail sales rose by 2.6% in March  2022 
compared to February , which was the highest increase since June 2021. US retailer sales were 7.3% 
higher  in May 2022  than they were only a year before . Nevertheless, much of the growth was coming 
from higher prices which consumers were forced to pay rathe r than higher spending.  
In his view, the pandemic  had accelerated and exacerbated problems that already exist ed in 
the supply chain, among which were labour shortages, increasing transportation costs, distribution 
and delivery delays, sustainability , and regulatory changes.  
Moreover, further uncertainties remained in the supply and demand outlook for cotton on 
both the supply side , i.e. farmers experiencing additional production challenges due to higher input 
prices, availability and weather conditions, a nd the demand side , i.e. a slow -down in world economic 
activity, new COVID -19 restrictions, lower polyester prices compared to cotton, and an increase  in 
international  trade tensions  in the context of the current geopolitical crisis , possibly putting 
downw ard pressure on cotton prices in the 2022/2023 season.    
Mr. Usman concluded  his presentation by remind ing the audience  that global supply chain 
problem s were not just limited to one single country, and that fixing logistic al issues in one exporting 
country would not  help if , for instance,  arrival  ports were still facing logjams . Nevertheless, on a 
more positive note, the delays provide d an opportunity to rethi nk how things could  be done in the 
future .  
4  ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: THE PERSPECTIVE OF SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATORS – 
IMPACTS OF SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS ON THE COTTON SECTOR IN LDCS AND 
POSSIBLE FUTURE ADJUSTMENTS TO OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS MODELS  
The Chair perso n introduced the roundtable  discussion by recalling the technical nature of the 
session, and its main purpose: to collect data and factual information on supply chain disruptions, 
and discuss these data in preparation for the 27 July 2022 Partner's Confere nce on cotton 
development assistance for the LDCs .  TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 4 - 
 
  
He first asked Mr. Lassana Kargougou, Commercial Director of SOFITEX  (Burkina Faso)  to share 
information on the costs and  problems  related to lint storage.  
Mr. Kargougou  thanked the Chair and the organizer for the possibility to  participate in the 
session  and discuss the impact s of COVID -19 on SOFITEX's export. While h is answer primarily 
focus ed on SOFITEX, he stressed  that the issues were identical for the other cotton companies  
in Burkina Faso.  
He first noted that, when it came to  the cotton sector of Burkina Faso, COVID -19 ha d affected 
the entire  supply  chain all the way from the crops, to lint, to exports , and recalled that  Burkina Faso 
was a land -locked country.  
He presented the different stages of cotton production and how SOFITEX was impacted at 
different levels. The company faced  issues relating to container availability,  problems with national  
transport  infrastructure, and  port delays . These had led to losses and additional costs. For instance , 
SOFITEX ha d 14 ginning centres and stor ing capacity sufficient to store cotton  fibre before it was 
taken to the ports. However, the pandemic had led to  increased storage time and subsequent 
difficulties linked to the nee d to protect stor ed fibre  from flooding  and other possible damages and  
weather  hazards. These circumstances had taken place at times, caus ing significant additional 
losses , cashflow unpredictability , and delays in  closing  contracts with customers .  
He concluded that , because of all the issues SOFITEX ha d faced, it had only been able to 
achieve 36 % of the set objectives  in term of exports  in the first quarter of 2022 .  
The Chair person  thank ed Mr. Kargougou for his presentation . He then gave  the floor to 
Mr. Kassoum  Koné, asking him to share information on  the transport ation of cotton  from farmgate  
to ginn ery and to  ports of export , before , during , and after the pandemic,  and how timeframes had 
changed in that period .  
Mr. Kassoum Koné, Commercial Director of the COIC ( Côte d'Ivoire ), thank ed the Chair person 
and indicated that he was facing very similar issues to those described by Mr . Kargougou of SOFITEX  
in the previous intervention . 
He reported data on  transport, in particular  for micro, small and medium enterprises  (MSMEs ). 
Before the COVID -19 outbreak, lorries did approximately 3.2 journeys per month  from ginneries to 
ports, he said, whereas  after COVID -19 the frequency went down to  approximately 1 journey per 
month . The  costs associated to these journeys , on the other hand,  rose by 15-20% in the same 
period .  
Both transit time and delays to complete  shipping  formalities at ports had also increased 
significantly. Mr . Koné highlight ed that, prior to COVID -19, 30 days at mo st were necessary to 
dispense port formalities and export cotton shipments, whereas during and after the pandemic that 
delay doubled .  
He also brought up issues on storage  time for cotton fibre . Before COVID -19, the average 
storage time was  between 9 and 1 2 months ; since the pandemic and until May 2022, storage time 
had increased to  15 to 18 month s on average . Finally, t he cost of  inputs such as  fertilizer s had tripled 
across the same time span, and this had severe impacts  on the production costs of cotton and other 
crops in  Côte d'Ivoire . As immediate strategies to counter these trends, he said, local stakeholders 
were aiming at  boost ing local consumption and improv ing the quality of their soil  by using organic 
fertilizers .  
The Chair person  thanked Mr. Koné and asked whether the price  of fertilizers had  increased 
due to logistical issues , or to a higher  cost of  relevant products , or both. Mr. Koné answered that it 
was due to both elements . In 2021, he reported,  the cost of fertilizers was 277 francs  CFA per unit. 
For 2022, it  was more than 600 francs  CFA/unit , plus transport costs.  
He introduced the next speaker, Mr. Charles  Jannet  of Ecom and Afcot  and asked him to share 
data on maritime transport of cotton lint from West Africa  to the rest of the world, in cluding the 
price and availability of containers, before, during, and after the COVID -19 pandemic . TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 5 - 
 
  
Mr. Jannet, Director of Ecom Agroindustrial Corporation Ltd., and President of Afcot  explained 
that, in order to ship cotton from West Africa to , for instanc e, East Asia, at least one month was 
required before the pandemic to carry out all the custom formalities . During the pandemic  it was 
closer  to two months. The issue , which persist ed at the time of the current debate , was the lack of 
predictability and transparency  in the information  provided by the maritime transport sector . He 
further explained that, for instance to ship cotton from West Africa to Bangladesh before the 
pandemic, a single container costed on average 1 ,500 USD; at the end of 2021 this price had risen 
to 2,500 -3,000 USD, whereas at the present time the price per container had reached a price 
between 4,000 -6,000 USD, without any guarantee that cotton would ultimately be shipped at that 
price, because shipping  delays could have entailed changes in container pricing from the same 
carrier.   
The Chair person thank ed Mr. Jannet. He gave the floor to the Representative of Chad  and 
asked him to focus on  the issue of transit time  for shipping Chadian cotton  before, dur ing, and after 
the pandemic.  
Mr. Tahla Mahamat Alim, Economic Advisor to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Chad 
to the UN and the WTO  and Coordinator of the LDC Group at the WTO , noted that while its country 
had suffered from a lack of availability of  vaccines and other medical supplies  needed for public 
health following the outbreak of the pandemic, it was now suffering from  an overall  lack of fertilizers 
and other products needed for cotton farming. As of May 2 022, the situation had worsened due  to 
the ongoing  food crisis, and the I MF had review ed its global growth outlook downwards, between  3% 
and 4% in the year 2022. He noted that all these factors combined with mounting inflation were 
putting African cotton e xports at serious risk.   
He endorse d the C -4 proposal to make COVID -19 and cotton a standing  agenda  item of  the 
Dedicated Discussions on cotton and expressed appreciation for the study conducted by the 
WTO Secretariat in November 2021 on the initial impact s of the COVID -19 pandemic on the cotton 
sector in LDCs.  
He noted that it had not been possible  to ship cotton  at the beginning of the pandemic, 
in 2020. For Chad, a landlocked country distant by more than 2,000 km from their main port of 
export, in Camero on, it meant  additional costs to stock cotton along the way, including insurance 
costs to avoid fibre degradation or destruction. He reported that companies were also under intense 
financial stress due to the inability to repay loans  to the banks within ag reed contractual delays. 
When cotton was finally exported, the  quantities that could be shipped had often to be limited due 
to large containers scarcity.  
Mr. Tahla  also reported th at cotton companies in LDCs had to directly help the millions of rural 
workers  that depended on cotton, including with food aid and other urgent assistance needed to 
help these people survive the crisis and its economic impacts .  
Lastly, he concluded that th e price outlook  for the season  2021/2022  was very positive, and 
that Chad cotton production was increasing steadily and had set the objective of 150,000 tonnes  of 
seed cotton for the next campaigns . He also stressed the importance of accessing market infor mation 
for African producers , taking advantage of new communication technologies.  
The Chair person  thanked the Representative of Chad and opened the floor for questions and 
comments.  He first called on the Representative of ICAC and asked if he wished to re act to what 
had been said by the panellists.  
For the Representative of ICAC, Mr . Usman,  local cotton transformation into higher value 
textile products  constituted a promising way forward . He explained that world cotton trade was 
worth on average 15 billion  USD, while textile trade was close to 850 billion USD. African countries, 
he said, should explore the option of investing in garment production and export. He saw a huge 
transformation gap the African countries could take advantage of.  
The Representative  of Mali addressed the issue of  how COVID -19 and price s of input  had 
affected  cotton farming.  in 2020, Cotton farming had been boycotted by farmers  in Mali in 2020 , 
having as a result a significant drop in production. As a consequence, various measures of support 
had been put in place by the government to support the sector, bringing production to pre -pandemic  TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 6 - 
 
  levels in 2021/2022. Subsequently, due to a regional emb argo on exports from Mali, transit 
operations had become more expensive and governmental support had to increase accordingly . He 
underlined that in addition to the difficulties being highlighted at the present session, Mali had 
therefore to face  supplement ary hurdles in terms of availability of agricultural input, besides their 
increased price  as well as additional financial burden to export cotton .  
The Representative of the  European Union underline d that market access to the European 
Union for LDC exports  took place under the everything but arms initiatives, which granted duty free 
access to all products irrespective of their level of transformation, thus eliminating the tariff 
escalation issue. He also noted that cotton by -products presented additional op portunities to add 
value at the local level to cotton production in LDCs.  
He further noted that the 2022 war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion w as putting 
additional risks and burdens to international trade in agricultural inputs . A crisis, he said, a lso 
represented an opportunity to find new solutions,  and invited the other  participants to reflect on  the 
possible opportunities that might arise for the cotton sector in LDCs pursuant to the need to face 
the multiple crises it was confronted with.  
Mr. Kargougou  of SOFITEX  comment ed on the statements by Chad and Mali. He reported that 
SOFITEX was working with producers to set the prices  of agricultural  inputs, which  implied important 
financial intervention from the government . Echoing the concerns underlined by Mali, he noted that 
the availability of agricultural inputs, irrespective of their price, represented a pressing issue. 
Regarding local cotton transformation,  he noted that some structural limitations, such as energy 
availability, still represented a real obstacle.  
The Chairperson  thanked participants for their rich interventions and invited the  panellists  to 
explain how the various price surcharges would be tr ansferred to the final consumers or absorbed 
through other mechanisms at various levels of the supply chain. He further asked whether the 
development of local value addition and local and regional markets could actually represent a valid 
alternative to sal es overseas that were being affected by the supply chain disruptions analysed 
during the present session.  
Mr. Jannet  of Ecom and Afcot took the floor to stress that international traders were working 
closely with cotton companies to overcome the various d ifficulties of the supply chain. Traders were 
also engaging final customers, who were also being negatively affected by supply chain disruptions.  
He noted for instance the case of India, w here the textile sector was facing shortages of raw cotton 
fibre and  therefore exploring alternative solutions. He further stressed the importance of 
transparency and communication along the supply chains.  
Mr. Kassoum  Koné of COIC  took the floor to address the subject of local transformation.  
Cotton was faced with issues dealing with a lack of containers, ships, and additional costs , implying 
a necessary reflection on the opportunities offered by local transformation. He noted that local 
transformation was a matter of political will; it was something that had to be planned  along a period 
of ten to twenty years, as it required several structural interventions in order  to become operational 
and sustainable.  He also noted the importance of sourcing agricultural input s locally, and moving 
towards local organic fertilizers , whose sales in Côte d'Ivoire were being boosted by the lack of the 
imported substitutes . Finally, h e highlighted the need for cotton to move from containerized exports 
to bulk exports, which would be less expensive and more efficient.  
The Rep resentative of Benin echoed the previous statement s regarding supply chain 
disruption s and local transformation . He noted that Benin had faced all the problems that had been 
described in the course of the session. He reiterated the availability of Benin to  help the landlocked 
countries from the subregion export their fibre using the Beninese ports. He concluded by stressing 
the importance of investments in local transformation, also by using existing tariff preferences and 
other trade creating mechanisms at  the bilateral and regional level.  
The Representative of Chad acknowledged the existence of the  EU preferential market access  
scheme for LDCs. He called on capital -based colleagues to take note of that element and take 
appropriate actions to better exploit relevant opportunities. He also supported  the suggestions made 
by Mr . Kassoum Koné of COIC regarding local transformation an d value addition, while also stressing 
the need to ensure the availability of energy as a pre -condition to enhance local transformation and TN/AG/SCC/W/42 • WT/CFMC/68  
 
- 7 - 
 
  value addition activities not only for cotton, but also for many other products. He finally stressed the 
importance of communication  and transparency  along the supply chain to face supply chain 
disruptions and better exploit new market opportunities that might arise as a result of the crisis.  
5  CONCLUSION  
The Chairperson  concluded  the session  by thanking all participants for the very rich and  
informative  debate and highlighting  the high -level of interest expressed by Members . 
Regarding the next steps  and based on the discussions of the day , he concluded that  various 
topics of interest  could be  envisaged and discussed  with Members  with a view to organizing further 
information sessions in the future , including trade in agricultural inputs, new market opportunities, 
as well as  a discussion on  local transformation and value addition  opportunities a nd challenges .  
The Chairperson  thanked the interpreters, Conference Office services and IT for their excellent 
work before adjourning the meeting .  
 
 
__________