West African Economic and Monetary Union Establishes A Cross Industry Regional Organization For The Cotton Industry

On March 21st, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) held a conference in Abidjan and decided to establish the “Inter industry Regional Organization for the Cotton Industry” (ORIC-UEMOA) to enhance the competitiveness of practitioners in the region. According to the Ivorian News Agency, the organization aims to support the development and promotion of cotton in the region in the international market, while promoting local processing of cotton.

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) brings together the top three cotton producing countries in Africa, Benin, Mali, and C ô te d’Ivoire. The main income of over 15 million people in the region comes from cotton, and nearly 70% of the working population is engaged in cotton cultivation. The annual yield of seed cotton exceeds 2 million tons, but the cotton processing volume is less than 2%.