THE STRUCTURE OF WORLD TRADE

摘要

The current study of the structure of world cotton trade for 2007 indicates that the cotton shipping industry has become more concentrated over the last thirteen years, but still remains highly competitive. During 2007 and the last seven years, volumes traded by the largest companies rose the most, by an estimated 54%. The Secretariat has studied the structure of world trade in cotton since 1994 and compiles a list of cotton-trading companies active as of the end of each year. Most of the firms are members of the 16 associations comprising the Committee for International Cooperation between Cotton Associations (CICCA). The latest list was compiled from seven annual surveys mailed to all members of CICCA, from industry publications and personal knowledge. The total number of responding companies from the seven surveys is 106. The list of cotton trading companies consists of 459 firms engaged, at least in part, in international trade in cotton. Companies are divided into four categories by relative size. Organizations are also grouped by type of ownership: government, cooperative or private. The latest list of cotton trading organizations consists of 23 government organizations, 9 cooperatives and 427 private firms.