The 69th Plenary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) will be held at the invitation of the Government of the United States of America September 20-25 in Lubbock, Texas.

Registration is underway. Notices of the meeting and invitations were placed in the mail to governments and cotton industry associations on April 30. All those with an interest in cotton are welcome.

Registration is available on-line at http://www.ICAC.org or by contacting the Secretariat for a registration booklet.

Topics of discussion will include:

- Water Use Efficiency, Lessons from Texas (open to all participants)

- Resource Constraints and Cotton Production: Sustaining Cotton's Place in the World Market

- New Developments in Cotton Technologies

- The Impacts of Social and Environmental Standards on Demand for Cotton and Textiles

- Outlook for Prices of Cotton and Competing Commodities

- The Uruguay Round and Regional Trade Agreements; Are There Lessons for the Doha Round?

- Technical Seminar: "How to Lower the Cost of Cotton Production"

- Progress Toward Industry Harmonization and Standardization

- Improving Industry Efficiency in Storage, Transportation and Handling

- Demand Enhancement: building on Successful Efforts

- Cotton Price Risk Management

- Best Practices in Cotton Ginning

- Best Practices in Instrument Testing

Approximately 500 participants from 50 countries and 8 international organizations are expected to attend the meeting. Traditionally, about two-thirds of participants are from the private sector and one-third-represent government or intergovernmental organizations.