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Jamaica actively pursuing revival of cotton industry

02 Feb '15
1 min read

Jamaica, an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, is actively pursuing revival of the cotton industry by bringing more area under the West Indian Sea Island Cotton (WISIC), which has high demand with buyers from countries like Japan, Italy, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
 
According to the Jamaica Information Service, the Jamaica Agricultural Development Foundation (JADF) is planning to increase the area under WISIC production to 5,000 acres over the next four years.
 
JADF is expecting that the area under cotton cultivation will grow from the current 300 acres to approximately 800 acres by the end of 2015-16 crop season, Vitus Evans, chief executive officer of the JADF said at an event in Kingston last week.
 
Supporting JADF’s vision, Derrick Kellier, minister of agriculture, labour and social security, said the cotton industry has potential to create 15,000 new jobs and fetch around US$ 1 billion in foreign exchange for the country.
 
He said WISIC, due to superior quality, gives a distinct competitive edge to the region, and is ideal for value addition.
 
WISIC is known for its fibre length, silk-like quality, fineness and texture. (RKS)
 

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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