33rd Meeting of the Task Force on CSITC

33rd Meeting of the CSITC Task Force

Saturday, 2 December 2023

In-person and Virtual

9:00 AM to 10:30 AM Indian Standard Time

Relevant documents:

Rene´ van der Sluijs Presentation

CSITC Task Force Contributions 2023-12, by Axel Drieling

The Task Force on Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) conducted its 33rd meeting on Saturday, 2 December 2023, in-person and virtually in Mumbai, India.

The 33rd meeting commenced with welcoming remarks from the Chairperson of CSITC, Dr Marinus (René) van der Sluijs.

Agenda Item 1:           The agenda was adopted.

Agenda Item 2:           Members Introduction

The Chair requested that the participants introduce themselves.

Members present:

  • Dr Marinus (René) van der Sluijs, Principal Consultant, Textile Technical Services, Australia (Chairman CSITC)
  • Mr Axel Drieling, Faserinstitut Bremen, Germany
  • Mr Peter Wakefield, Wakefield Inspection Services and Chairman, Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), Taiwan
  • Dr Jean Paul Gourlot, CIRAD Persyst, France
  • Mr Pardeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman Cotton Corporation of India, India
  • Mr Fatih Dogan, Vice President, Mediterranean Textile and Raw materials Exporters Associations, Turkey
  • Dr Mohammed Negm, Head of Spinning Research Department, Cotton Research Institute, Egypt

Members Not Present:

  • Ms Mariana Carfagnini, Coordinator of the Textile Physical Unit of the Center for Textile Research, Argentina
  • Mr Ramiro Casoliba, Director Del Centro Intl, Argentina
  • Mr Gregory Parle, Australian Food and Fibre, Australia
  • Eng Mohamed Khalil Khedr, Chairman, CATGO – Cotton Arbitration & Testing General Organization, Egypt
  • Dr Urania Kechagia, Consultant Cotton and Industrial Plants Institute, Greece
  • Mr Patrick Ilukat, Cotton Development Organization, Uganda
  • Prof Suzan Husseini Sanad, Cotton Research Institute, Egypt
  • Ms Gretchen Deatherage, Director Standardization, USDA- AMS, USA
  • Prof Iwona Frydrych, Vice President, Gdynia Cotton Association, Poland

Observers:

  • Dr Terry Townsend, Cotton Analytics, USA
  • Mr Karsten Froese, BBB/ICA Bremen
  • Dr Guntram Kugler, Textechno, Germany
  • Dr Bobby Hardin, Texas A&M University, USA
  • Mr Robert Wakefield, WIS, UK

Unfortunately, due to logistical and technical issues, not all the details of the observers was recorded. The Chair offers his apology and is happy to amend the minutes to include their details.

ICAC Secretariat:

  • Mr Mike McCue, Director of Communications
  • Mr Kanwar Usman, Head of Textiles

Agenda Item 3:           Approval of the Minutes of 32nd Meeting, held in-person and virtually on 28 September 2022 in Bremen, Germany

The minutes of the 32nd Meeting of the Task Force were approved.

Agenda Item 4:           Update on Round Trial Results and Comparisons by Mr Axel Drieling

Mr Drieling delivered his presentation, ‘CSITC Task Force Contributions,’ which is the most important and regular feature of every meeting of the Task Force. Mr Drieling shared the latest results and participation in the Round Trials (RT) and mentioned that RT was one of the major activities of the Task Force. He added that every laboratory received an overall evaluation for all six properties.

Mr Drieling stated that every year, four RT are conducted and that the third RT for 2023 has been  completed. In each RT, all samples are tested for five days, six times per day, totaling thirty tests per sample. Mr Drieling advised that six properties – micronaire, strength, length in terms of upper half mean length, length uniformity in %, color in terms of Rd and +b were analyzed for evaluation purposes, whist four properties – trash area and count, short fiber index in % and maturity were also assessed only for information purposes and did not form part of the overall evaluation of the laboratories.

Mr Drieling noted that the analysis was conducted by determining the deviation of laboratory/instrument average values from the reference value, with the reference value being the average of all the laboratories/instruments after eliminating any outliers. For each property, absolute deviation of all four samples was calculated and it was divided by a scale value, which was based on the USDA AMS reproducibility limits. Overall Evaluation Result (OER) is the average of six properties and the benefit is that OER for a laboratory/instrument is one single value, demonstrating how far the laboratory/instrument  deviated from the overall results. Ideally, it should be zero, however, typically it was between 0.2 to 0.7.

Mr Drieling explained that the deviation between laboratories, which was directly related to the evaluation of combined properties, had been steadily decreasing from 0.5 which was achieved in 2007. The results for the earlier years were below expectation as laboratories participating in the RT needed time to improve their procedures and practices. The results had significantly improved since 2011 and from 2012 onwards when the number of participants remained consistent the results improved, with variation between the laboratories reduced to 0.35. He further noted that in 2020, the variation between the laboratories reduced even further to below 0.30, which was in all likelihood due to lower participation rates during COVID.

OER had improved by 35%, meaning that variation between the laboratories/instruments had reduced by 35%. He mentioned that results were not improving further and had stabilized around 0.35, meaning that the participating laboratories had achieved their optimal  level. Mr Drieling said that this was the most significant achievement of CSITC –  that deviation between the laboratories/instruments had reduced by 35%.

Mr Drieling noted that initially when the RT first began, the median OER was 0.51 and now it is 0.34. Similarly, he explained the average evaluation results for each of the six properties  – micronaire, strength, length, uniformity, color (Rd&+b) for the three RT of 2023 were 0.34, 0.30, 0.28, 0.21 & 0.40, respectively. Furthermore, he noted that in single property the results have improved by 34%, 37%, 21%, 24%, 59% & 17%, respectively. Mr Drieling also mentioned that in RT-3/2023, the micronaire and Rd results of 0.30 and 0.21, respectively, were the best to date.

Mr Drieling said that previously, the best laboratory was  around 0.25, but now the best laboratory was around 0.15 – and it was never the same laboratory or the instrument. Furthermore, he stated that instruments with scores of around 0.25 are now in the 25% of the top laboratories; similarly, if a laboratory’s results are around 0.35, then that would be in the top 50% of laboratories.

Mr Drieling noted that participation was at its height from 2012 to 2017, and then it dropped off for the next couple of years. Encouragingly, since 2021 the participation rates have once again been increasing.

Thirty-three countries participated in the latest RT with twelve countries from Africa with nineteen laboratories; nine from Asia with twenty-nine laboratories; five from the European Union with eight laboratories; North America with two countries with eighteen laboratories; South America had three countries with seventeen laboratories; and Australia had four laboratories with eighteen instruments. He also highlighted that participation was mostly from the countries that engage in cotton production rather than cotton processing. He also mentioned that with the help of Mr Wakefield, laboratories were categorized: sixty-nine laboratories were in cotton production, with nine laboratories from spinning and seventeen laboratories from other sectors including government, research, regional technical centers and instrument manufacturers. In short, participation from the spinning sector was less than 10% in the RT.

The Chair thanked Mr Drieling for his informative presentation.

Various questions were asked pertaining to registration, costs and systematic variation within the different segregated groups, such as laboratories pertaining to government, research, and production –  especially the nine participants from the spinning sector and also on the basis of the testing equipment and samples.

Agenda Item 5:             CSITC – from an Australian Perspective by Dr Marinus (René) van der Sluijs

Dr van der Sluijs, the Chair of the Task Force, made a presentation on ‘CSITC – from an Australian Perspective,’ and described how they practically use CSITC. Australia have four classing facilities with eighteen instruments. He pointed out that since 2004, a Best Management Practice (BMP)for Classing has been in place which was reviewed annually prior to the ginning season. The classing facilities are audited every year to determine their compliance with the BMP for Classing. Moreover, three laboratories have obtained ICA Bremen certification and there are a number of people certified as ICA quality experts. All classing facilities must participate in the 2nd and 3rd RT and Australia was one of the few countries that collates and analyses the CSITC results. Dr van der Sluijs explained that initially, the results were higher, but now the results were more uniform and closer to the best averages. Importantly, all these results are published and everyone in the industry has access to this information. Lastly, he said that participating in CSITC has been beneficial across the value chain, importantly providing accurate, reliable and consistent results, maximizing returns for the grower (ensuring the right price to the grower). It also provides confidence to the spinner that they are purchasing the required fiber quality. This in turn resulted in fewer disputes – In the last six years there were no arbitration issues. Dr van der Sluijs said that this was also important for the breeder to improve their selection. He concluded that this was how a country, or a company could maximize their benefits of participating in RT.

Dr Townsend asked about the advantage of participating in various RT; Dr van der Sluijs said that most of the laboratories were also participating in the USDA and Bremen RT for added confidence. Mr. Drieling added that for standardized high volume testing none of the other RT were comparable to CSITC, as it was more comprehensive. Dr van der Sluijs further added that CSITC provides a complete analysis as well.

Mr Drieling mentioned that he received a letter from Mr Nicolas Buyatti, Director General Association for the Promotion of Cotton Production, Argentina, commending the CSITC RT for improving their overall quality results. Dr van der Sluijs and Mr Drieling proclaimed that their acknowledgement underscores the effectiveness of the CSITC in driving quality improvements in cotton testing.

Agenda Item 6:             Revamping the CSITC (Rename, Rebrand and Remarket for Enhanced Participation)

The Chair started the discussion with agenda item 6a: Publication of Participating Laboratories’ Names. Mr Drieling said that previously, names were published  in the past but indicated that CSITC should publish the names on a more regular basis to recognize the laboratories. He said that these were the laboratories that cared about maintaining quality. Mr Drieling added that this needed to be promoted and requested Mr McCue for his assistance. Mr Usman agreed with the proposal and asked Mr Drieling whether it would be on the basis of laboratories or the instruments. Mr Drieling suggested that it would be on the basis of the number of instruments from each laboratory that participated. On the query from the Chair, Mr Drieling stated that it would commence from January 2024. Regarding a question from Dr Townsend, Mr Drieling clarified that only the names, but not the results, would be published. Dr Townsend further queried why this had not been done previously? Dr Gourlot questioned how the advertisement of these laboratories would be conducted, to which the Chair responded that the Task Force would coordinate with Mr McCue for effective promotion.

The key decision made by the Task Force was to publish the names of participating laboratories and their instruments, while ensuring that the specific results of the RT remain confidential. This approach balances the recognition of participating laboratories with the privacy of their individual performance data. This is aimed at recognizing and encouraging their commitment to maintaining quality and consistency in cotton testing. The Task Force also endorsed a new approach for the issuing of certificates to participating laboratories. These certificates will now include specific information indicating whether a laboratory’s results fall within the top 25%, 50%, or 75% of all participants. This detailed feedback was designed to not only recognize current performance levels but also to provide clear guidance on the extent of improvement needed for laboratories to enhance their results. Furthermore, the Task Force agreed to upgrade the database to support these new certification standards. This enhancement was essential for an easy and clear display of the results. ICAC will be contacted to request the required funds for this upgrade, which should be less that $3000.

The Chair then turned to agenda item 6(b) Creating value for RT in the spinning sector/operations – and enquired how the spinning sector could be encouraged to be part of CSITC. Mr Drieling mentioned that  flyers and promotional materials had been developed previously – but needed to be updated.

Unfortunately, due to the logistical and technical issues eluded to earlier not all the agenda items were able to be completed due to shortage of time.

The next CSITC meeting will be held during the Bremen Cotton Conference and is scheduled from 11:00 to 13:00, in the Bremen Cotton Exchange building in room 406, on 18 in March 2024.

The meeting ended at 10:30.

*******