Zimbabwe: A country to reckon with in global cotton market

Zimbabwe has emerged as a strong player in the international market for raw cotton with its annual production of this natural exceeding 300,000 tonnes. M D Dewani reports

Zimbabwe's achievement in becoming one of the prominent players in the production of cotton, is all the more significant as most of its cotton cultivators are very small holders of land and cultivation remains largely dependent on rains, in the absence of dependable irrigation facilities.

Nonetheless, cotton has become the mainstay of the country's economy, earning foreign exchange to the tune of US $ 150 million annually. Zimbabwe has, as many as 200,000 cotton cultivators, most of them having very small land holdings, yet with hard work, they have been able to place the country among leading cotton producers in the world, without any subsidy from the government. Zimbabwe has thus been to claim a vibrant cotton industry.

In spite of problems caused by small holdings and lack of irrigation facilities, these cotton growers have been able to push up their production well above the 300,000 tonnes mark. Until 1998, the production was well below that level. Thereafter it gradually rose reaching the peak of 353,000 tonnes in 2000. In the subsequent years, there was some setback, but the output again rose to about 320,000 tonnes in 2004.

Cotton cultivators in Zimbabwe are free to sell their produce to any buyer they like. Zimbabwe has about a dozen cotton buying firms competing among themselves to purchase this fibre directly from cultivators. They do not attach much importance to quality standards. However efforts are now underway now to introduce some regulatory framework for the introduction of quality standards and also to step up cotton production in the country.

Cotton buyers in the country, particularly the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, a leading player in the industry, help cotton growers by providing them on credit, certain inputs such as fertilisers, chemical sprays, etc until the harvesting of the crop. However, in the absence of any regulation requiring growers to deliver their cotton to their creditors, the latter very often find it difficult to collect their outstandings from growers. Some of the creditors then reduce credit facilities to cotton growers. Buyers also provide growers extension services. They purchase cotton at the farm itself.

Zimbabwe's cotton industry has a strong research base. The government owned Cotton Research Institute (CRI) is in the forefront of all research activities pertaining to cotton. The Quton Seed Company (QSC), private sector enterprise has been breeding and testing varieties suitable for cultivation in the country in close association with CRI.

About 10,000 farmers multiply, on contract basis, varieties under certain stringent conditions. The varieties thus grown in Zimbabwe are then approved by the Variety Release Committee on which there are representatives of farmers, ginners as well as spinners. The Variety Release Committee tries to strike a balance between good yields and excellent fibre characteristics. Seed production in the country is estimated at 9000 tonnes in 2004. This is considered adequate for the domestic requirement as well as for some exports to the regional market.

The ginning industry has already expanded its capacity much ahead of the present level of cotton production. The ginning capacity in the country has already reached the level of 600,000 tonnes with the result that nearly half of it remains unutilised at present. Of course, ginning factories hope that cotton production in the country will continue to rise and the capacity remaining underutilised at present will be gradually utilised. Even so it is difficult to say whether the industry will be in a position to make full use of its present capacity.

While Zimbabwe has emerged as a significant cotton producer in the world, its textile industry has not grown sufficiently to be able to make full use of its cotton. Under this situation, only about 20 per cent of the homegrown cotton can be sold for domestic consumption, while the remaining 80 per cent has to be sold in the export markets. This explains how Zimbabwe's cotton industry remains an important player in global markets.

As cotton has proved its viability as a cash crop in the country, it is likely that more areas might be brought under cotton cultivation in the country. Thus there is a clear possibility that cotton production may go up further in the coming years.

In fact, Zimbabwe hopes to keep its cotton production much above the level of 300,000 tonnes a year in the short and medium terms.

It is also realised that a regulatory frame work is needed in the country to set up the supply of inputs and improve both production and quality. It is hoped that as the country's economy grows, its textile industry too may also expand. This may result in more cotton being consumed by the domestic textile industry than at present.