Increasing Demand For Quality In World Cotton Markets: How Has Zambia Performed?

1. Changes in spinning technology have increased the premium on high quality lint in the world market and increased the discount for lint contaminated with non-vegetative matter 2. The inherent characteristics of most African lint, plus the fact that it is hand-picked, should give it a substantial premium in the world market. However, because so much African lint is highly contaminated by world standards, much of it trades at a discount to Index A. 3. Zambia has been the outstanding success among a sample of nine SSA countries in improving quality; this achievement is directly attributable to the efforts of Dunavant and Cargill, made possible by company culture and by the concentrated structure of Zambia's industry 4. Quality (and input supply) can be quickly undermined as a sector becomes more competitive. Continued collaboration among ZACOPA and CAZ within the framework of the Cotton Act, facilitated by a non-partisan government role, will be crucial to maintain good performance