The Mozambique Cotton Association has been elected to chair the Standing Committee of Producers of the Private Sector Consultative Council of the association of governments of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries.

By December of next year, Mozambique will represent the world's largest private cotton producers represented at the ICAC - International Cotton Advisory Committee (International Cotton Advisory Committee), the association of the governments of cotton producing, consuming and trading countries, with the election of Francisco Ferreira dos Santos, businessman and president of the Associação Algodoeira de Moçambique (AAM), to the presidency of the Standing Committee of Producers of the ICAC's Private Sector Consultative Council.

This election to lead ICAC's Private Sector Committee is, according to Francisco Ferreira dos Santos, "a very important moment for the country and for our cotton sub-sector in particular. As he explained, "although our size is insignificant in the global scale of cotton production and consumption, this election is a tacit recognition of our capacity and work, and also a good opportunity for us to contribute, in an even more effective way, to the global development of the cotton value chain, and to raise the Mozambican brand", stressed the president of AAM.

The main mission of the ICAC Private Sector Consultative Council is to promote communication between the private sector and ICAC members and to convey to them the concerns of the cotton industry throughout its value chain, from fiber production to processing by the textile industry. The ICAC, based in Washington, USA, is an international and intergovernmental association of cotton producing and consuming countries, created in 1939 with the objective of establishing international cooperation in cotton issues. That international organization, recognized as a partner by the United Nations, currently brings together 24 countries, including Mozambique since 2010, which represent the overwhelming majority of cotton produced and traded in the world.

ICAC's main function is to closely monitor events affecting the global cotton situation, to compile and disseminate information on production, consumption, trade and prices, to suggest measures that promote economic benefits for the cotton industry and to be a privileged forum for the discussion of issues relevant to the sector. Its activities also include technical advice and the development of projects related to the cotton industry.

The Associação Algodoeira de Moçambique was created in 1998 with the purpose of promoting the interests of the sub-sector and its associates - companies holding concession contracts with the State for the promotion of cotton cultivation and with processing plants -, having become one of the associations with the greatest relevance and intervention at a national level.