Global cotton exports are rapidly transforming — supplies of raw cotton, a product with low added value, have been replaced by cotton yarn. This has allowed countries where cotton is grown to develop their own spinning industries, and at the same time has given impetus to the development of weaving in countries and regions that previously could not afford to establish a full cycle of cotton fabric production.
Natalia Pin is the founder of the trading company INTER COTTON EXPORT AND IMPORT, which specializes in the export of textile products from Uzbekistan to the countries of the European Union, the CIS and China. The annual turnover of INTER COTTON EXPORT AND IMPORT exceeds 10 million dollars.
Natalia has brought dozens of Uzbek brands to the world market, including LLC Namangan Paxta teks, Beshariq To’qimachi group, Furqat in tex llc, Musavartex llc, Oltinsoy Cotton Cluster llc, Denov Tekstil klaster llc, Poly Tex Sirdaryo llc. Currently, the products of these enterprises are supplied to Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Germany and China. Among the industry buyers are the largest corporations in China: Xiamen ITG, S&G, Tianjin Textile and China Chantong.
One of Natalia’s key achievements is that, thanks to her successful management policy, cotton yarn manufacturing companies received an impetus for development due to new sales markets.
Uzbekistan is one of the largest cotton producers, accounting for 3% of world exports. Previously, this country specialized in the supply of raw cotton to the states of the former USSR. Due to this strategy, only agricultural enterprises received profits from cotton exports. In the 2010s, the country set a course for creating high-value-added products — cotton yarn. The state supported the opening of new spinning factories and the modernization of existing facilities, but enterprises needed a guaranteed sales market in order to recoup their investments as quickly as possible.
According to Natalia Pin, when working with fast-growing markets like Uzbekistan, one of the main tasks of an exporter is to form a pool of yarn suppliers. Considering that many manufacturing companies have not yet had time to make a name for themselves, it is important for the exporter to be proactive and be the first to contact these companies to offer a contract.
As Natalia Pin mentioned, potential suppliers can be found at industry events — conferences, forums, round tables, business awards ceremonies. The expert calls monitoring press releases on government websites an important tool. Since new enterprises are often created using government support tools, information about the launch of production and the opening of new lines regularly appears on the portals of specialized ministries and departments. And in specialized associations, Natalia Pin notes, you can first of all find up-to-date information about the modernization of the capacities of existing factories.
When working with new companies, the expert advises paying special attention to checking counterparties. Many specialized services, such as open reporting databases, are focused on the data array of companies with a history. But if the company has been operating on the market for only a couple of years, then analyzing revenue indicators will not yield results. According to Natalia Pin, in this case, it is worth paying attention to the authorized capital of the new factory – the larger it is, the better. It is also of great importance who the co-founder of the company is. For example, if a spinning mill was founded by a proven producer of raw cotton in order to work with its own raw materials, for the exporter this is a good signal indicating that the risk of supply disruptions is minimal.
When working with yarn manufacturers, it is extremely important to monitor the compliance of products with national and international standards.
Natalia Pin notes that each country has its own national standards for cotton, but in general the requirements for products are similar. Therefore, if a yarn manufacturer has received confirmation of compliance with a national standard in its home country, then it is highly likely that there will be no problems with certification in the country to which it exports.
There are also international standards, such as BCI.
The exporter is not responsible for product certification, however, as Natalia Pin says, when it comes to cooperation with new companies, yarn producers often turn to her for advice and consultations on how to prepare the necessary documents for the countries to which they plan to supply. Natalia Pin implemented her strategy in the company INTER COTTON EXPORT AND IMPORT, establishing cooperation with 30 Uzbek spinning mills. Natalia Pin’s pool of business partners includes not only yarn producers, the company also carries out export supplies of finished textile products. According to Natalia Pin, working with yarn and finished products requires different approaches.
In particular, if yarn supplies are usually carried out in large batches under long-term contracts, then the export of finished textile products requires one framework contract and regularly extended short-term contracts with changing supply volumes. This difference is explained by the characteristics of the products and the format of interaction with consumers. In the case of yarn, buyers are weaving factories that seek to calculate their workload at least a year in advance in order to conclude the necessary contracts with spinning enterprises.
When it comes to deliveries of finished products, especially to retail, applications are adjusted taking demand into account.
“Export deliveries contribute to the development of the textile industry around the world – new production facilities are opened, additional jobs appear, and buyers receive high-quality and necessary things. Considering the colossal importance of the textile industry on a global scale, I am sure that the export of finished cotton products will only grow every year,” noted Natalia Pin.
