Indonesia will invest in US cotton after being a part of the 2019 Cotton USA special trade mission. Eighteen cotton buyers from Indonesian textile mills and two leaders of the Indonesian textile association attended the mission. The group visited six stops in the cotton belt to learn about the seven segments of the US cotton industry and met cotton leaders. 

The mission educated the group on the many advantages of US cotton and developed business relationships between the foreign trade and US cotton industry to help increase business opportunities. After the event, the participants said they expect to purchase an addition 194,000 bales of US cotton in the next year because of their participation, according to Cotton USA. 

The mission began in New York where the group met with ICE Futures, followed by a stop in Raleigh, where it visited Cotton Incorporated and toured their research labs. Afterwards, the group travelled west, stopping in Memphis to visit a USDA classing office and to meet with the National Cotton Council (NCC) and representatives of the local growing region. Later, the mission travelled to South Texas, visiting a farm and gin and seeing some of the first cotton being harvested in the US. The group then travelled to Lubbock and finished its tour in California where it met with representatives of the local growing regions as well as Supima. (GK)