Cotton Market Trends in the World and in the European Union

The paperwork presents the main trends on the cotton market worldwide and in the European Union from 2007 until now. To conduct a study reflecting the evolution of this market, several indicators have been analyzed, among which we mention: areas planted with cotton for fiber, total production of cotton worldwide and at the European Union level, average prices for the American cotton on the stock exchange in New York and for the cotton with average fiber on the stock exchange in Liverpool, the imports and the exports. In order to produce garments, cotton was first used in Egypt, Mexico, India and Pcru, and today is the most widely used natural fiber in the world used by half of the world textile industry. The first spinning mills were set up in Bombay, India, a country which is today the main source of raw material. Among the cotton properties we mention: it is non allergenic, biodegradable, absorbs moisture and can withstand high temperatures without affecting its qualities, explaining why the fabrics can be sterilized. (https://ro.wikipedia.org/wilci/Bumbac, 2016) Being among the most important crops in terms of land use, cultivated in over a hundred countries, cotton creates a significant number of jobs and provides income for more than 250 million people in the stages of production, processing, storage and transport of this technology chain. Millions of jobs are provided by allied industries ranging from agricultural production means and machinery to textile manufacturing. According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee, founded in 1939, around 100 million households are directly involved in cotton production and about one hundred and fifty countries are involved in the trade of this product. Currently cotton industry has a great importance because of its many uses and because of the cost, more convenient compared to other raw materials. [GRAPICS] The most popular destination of the cotton seeds is the fiber, but there are several derivative products highlighted in Fig. 1. Is the most valuable textile plant, with multiple uses: fine textile, rayon, accessories for the electronics industry, furniture industry, carpets and cellulose industry. Seed oil (20-27%) is poor drying and it is used in the industry. At the moment there is a tendency to wear clothes of natural fibers produced using environmentally friendly technologies for the cultivation of the plant supplying raw materials. Because of the higher cost for this type of clothing, it appeared the variant to mix fiber cotton with yarn and chemical fiber obtaining"cotton" type products of high quality, durable, having a pleasant aspect and acceptable production costs. Given such trends manifested among consumers, there is a global and European Union intensification of trade in cotton.