Textiles Minister Smriti Irani to represent India at World Cotton Day celebrations in Geneva

Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani will participate in the plenary session of World Cotton Day being observed from October 7 to 11 at Geneva in Switzerland.

The event to be attended by heads of states, heads of international organisations and executives from the private sector from 30 countries. A sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi made out of cotton will be displayed to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is organising World Cotton Day event in collaboration with secretariats of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).

The event will celebrate the many advantages of cotton -- from its qualities as a natural fibre to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption.

A single tonne of cotton provides year-round employment for five people on average. It is a drought-resistant crop ideal for arid climates, occupies just 2.1 per cent of the world's arable land and yet it meets 27 per cent of the world's textiles need.

In addition to its fibre used in textiles and apparel, food products are also derived from cotton --like edible oil and animal feed from the seed, according to an official statement released on Friday.