One of the local values of Anatolia, Söke cotton became the first cotton product to be registered in the European Union. Türkiye is celebrating the success of Söke cotton on October 7th, World Cotton Day. World Cotton Day will be held in Söke on October 7th and 8th, 2024 with a large participation in the Better Cotton Field Trip event. During the two-day field trip attended by farmers and industry representatives, cotton production, ginning, cotton supply chain activities and the Better Cotton Standard System application in Türkiye will be observed on site.
“Söke cotton became our 27th geographical indication registered in the European Union”
Aegean Exporters’ Association Coordinator President and Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’ Association President Jak Eskinazi stated that approximately 84 percent of the world’s cotton production is carried out by the top ten countries, including Türkiye and reported that Türkiye ranked 7th in world cotton production in the 2023/24 season. Drawing attention to the fact that Türkiye’s share in the EU market has increased even more, especially with organic and sustainable production projects, Eskinazi said: “Production is carried out with good cotton practices in our Söke Plain, known for Türkiye’s cotton warehouse and quality cotton production. Geographical indication registration increases the international market value of the product and the registered product is premium quality/first class. Our Söke cotton, also known as “White Gold” due to the fineness and durability of the yarns obtained from Söke cotton, its unique features, fiber length, softness, high quality and production processes, has become our 27th geographical indication registered in the European Union. We congratulate all our producers who are devoted to cotton, especially Söke Commodity Exchange, and everyone who contributed. This registration we received for the Söke cotton will create more added value.”
Turkish Cotton branded with “GMO Free Turkish Cotton”
Underlining that Türkiye is one of the rare countries that produces GMO-free cotton, Jak Eskinazi explained that the only countries in the world that produce GMO-free cotton are Türkiye, Greece and Spain. “In our region, sustainable cotton production such as organic cotton, better cotton, and regenerative cotton is intensively carried out. We are the second country in the world that produces the most organic cotton after India,” he said and underlined that another important point is that all of the cotton produced in Türkiye is GMO-free. Eskinazi continued his words as follows:
“Our trademark, registered with the phrase ‘GMO FREE Turkish Cotton’, is now ready for use by the entire industry. ‘GMO FREE Turkish Cotton’ has created a privileged brand for the Turkish textile industry and provided Turkish cotton production with an important status in the world. We continue our projects related to sustainable cotton production and digital agriculture projects. We are bringing the sustainability of Turkish cotton to the forefront by collaborating with global initiatives such as the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’”.