29844: Durban (comment): Cotton growing in Haiti

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Lance Durban <lpdurban@yahoo.com> posts this thought:

There's an interesting article on growing cotton in Africa in the
Sunday NY Times, which the Times makes accessible for one week at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/business/yourmoney/14duna.html?th&emc=th

25 years ago one could find many locally-produced cotton products in
Haiti.  Not processed (ginned?) cotton, but big lumpy cotton that was
used in artsy pillow cases and wall tapestries.  We still have a (very
heavy) bedspread made out of the stuff.

While low volume handicrafts could probably still use some cotton, I
wondered, in reading the NY Times article, if there might not be room
for an investment in cotton production in Haiti.  It is labor intensive
and the international market is huge.  The key would seem to be the $2
billion subsidy which the U.S. gov't pays to U.S. cotton growers
(mostly in California, Texas and Mississippi).  Growing cotton is low
tech, and if that subsidy gets cut or eliminated, Haiti would surely be
very competitive.

As an alternative, maybe someone could suggest to Washington that
Haiti's growers be included in that U.S. gov't subsidy.  U.S. cotton
growers who would normally be chary of that idea might be "convinced"
by reminding them that (1) Haiti will never be a big player given land
constraints, and (2) this measure could win support for their craziy
subsidies in the int'l development crowd which usually is vehemently
opposed to market-disrupting agricultural subsidies.  Spreading these
subsidies to Haiti might even get the support from Cargill and
Dunavant, the two huge processors mentioned in the Times article.  (Of
course, then we could count on the the leftists in this group to start
anew their anti-colonialism babble).

Lance Durban