Bale
A basic traceable unit of lint (ginned cotton). Bale weights vary
from country to country. (See under the relevant country for specific
bale weights were applicable.) By convention, a 'statistical' bale
weighs 480 lbs.
Base grade
A selected grade of cotton used by cotton merchants as a basis for
contracts, premiums and discounts. (See also contract, premium, discount)
Basis
The difference between simultaneous prices for cotton futures and
spot cotton. It may be quoted by reference to any futures month. For
example the "March basis" would mean the difference between
the current price of March futures and the simultaneous quoted value
of any given grade and staple of spot cotton. The growth is usually
quoted in terms of points on or off the applicable month trading at
the New York Cotton Exchange according to the calculated difference.
(See also New York Cotton Exchange)
Bleached cotton linters
Linters that have been bleached ready for further processing.
Boll
The fruiting structure of a cotton plant. It is made up of separate
compartments called locks, in which cotton seeds and lint grow.
Break
spinning
An alternative name for open-end spinning.
broker
One who assembles individual bales or small lots into larger volumes
for others. One who acts as a selling agent for shippers/growers and
buyers for mills.
Bt cotton
A genetically engineered cotton carrying the Bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) gene that produces, in every cotton plant cell, protein crystals
toxic to some insect pests.
Carded
A yarn preparation. During the carding process raw cotton is separated,
opened, cleaned and made into sliver.
Classing
The process of describing cotton quality so that its value can be
determined. (See also staple length, grade, colour)
Combed
An industrial yarn preparation. During the combing process, fibres
are combed to make them parallel in the sliver and short fibres are
removed.
Colour
the degree of whiteness of the cotton fibre.
Colour grade
describes the colour of cotton lint. There are 30 standard colour
grades, of which 15 are physical standards (held as boxed samples
of the complete range of grades) and 15 are descriptive.
Continuous
spinning
A system of spinning in which the fibre moves through the process
without interruption, eg ring-spinning.
Cotton
Cultivated cotton is a perennial shrub, genus Gossypium. There are
two major species in current production - G. hirsutum, commonly known
as upland cotton, and G. barbadense or pima cotton. (See also G. hirsutum,
G. barbadense, upland cotton, Pima cotton)
Cotton
spinning system
The process originally developed for spinning cotton, applied now
also to other staple fibres.
Count of yarn
A number indicating the mass per unit length or the length per unit
mass of yarn.
Country damage
Damage to cotton caused by moisture, dust or sand affecting bales
that have either been exposed to the weather or stored on wet or contaminated
ground.
Dead cotton
An extreme form of immature cotton, having a thin fibre wall. Can
result from disease, pest attack or a foreshortened ripening period.
Denier
weight of a man-made fibre or yarn, expressed as the weight in grams
of 9,000 meters of the thread. The lower the number, the finer the
thread.
Dryland
see raingrown cotton
English
cotton count
An indirect system measuring length per unit of mass, ie. The number
of hanks (840 yards) per pound weight.
Fairtrade
Fair Trade is an alternative approach to conventional international
trade. It is a trading partnership which aims at sustainable development
for excluded and disadvantaged producers. It seeks to do this by providing
better trading conditions, by awareness raising and positive marketing.
Fibre
A cotton fibre is classified in four ways, by its length, micronaire,
strength and uniformity. (See also length, micronaire, strengthand
uniformity). The fibre typically accounts for approximately 35 percent
of the weight of a seed cotton, though this proportion varies.
Foreign matter
Anything that is not part of the cotton plant.
Gossypium barbadense
Pima or extra long staple cotton. Major producing countries are Egypt,
the USA, Israel, Peru and the Central Asian staes of the former Soviet
Union.
Gossypium hirsutum
Typically known as upland cotton of medium staple length. It is the
major species of cotton grown world-wide, accounting for about 90
percent of planted acreage.
Gossypium. arboreum, Gossypium herbaceum
Asiatic short staple coarse cotton, usually of high Micronaire.
Ginning outturn
the ratio of lint to seed cotton produced by the ginning process.
Grade
Official US classification system given to lint to describe its quality
in terms of colour and leaf content. See Universal Cotton Standards,
colour, leaf
Handle
The subjective assessment of feel (roughness, smoothness, pliability,
thickness).
HVI
High Volume Instrument testing. Systems by which high speed bale by
bale testing can be attained. Bales are tested for micronaire, length,
uniformity, strength, elongation, colorant trash content.
Jute
A coarse, brown fibre from the stalk of a bast plant.
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Leaf
grade
describes the leaf or "trash" content of cotton lint. There
are 8 grades, of which 7 are physical (held as boxed samples covering
the range of grades) and the remaining is a descriptive standard based
on the other 7.
Length
The average length of cotton fibre after the ginning process.
Lint
The cotton fibre obtained by the ginning process once the cotton seed,
leaves and casing have been removed.
Long
Someone who has bought cotton futures or other cotton, is said to
be long until he sells his contracts to another or accepts delivery
of the cotton at the maturity date of the contract. (See Also NYCE,
futures contracts)
Metric
cotton count
An indirect system measuring length per unit of mass, ie. The number
of kilometres per 1/2 kilogramme.
Micronaire
The size of an individual cotton fibre taken in cross-section.
Motes
Can be either fuzzy (immature seeds on which fibre development ceased
at an early stage) or bearded (a piece of seed coat with long fibres
attached). Both are often termed seed coat neps.
Nep
A small knot of tangled fibre.
New York Cotton Exchange
The New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE®) was founded by cotton brokers
and merchants in 1870. It is the oldest futures exchange in New York.
(See Also futures contracts, long)
Option
Under the terms of an option contract, a buyer has the right to buy
or sell a futures (or other) contract, at a specific price within
a set period of time. The contract price is not dependent on the current
market price for the contract item. The buyer is under no obligation
to fulfil the contract.
Open-end spinning
A process by which yarn is spun from a broken-up sliver or roving.
Opening
The process of separating fibres from the pressed bale.
Organic cotton
Organically grown cotton uses crop rotation, beneficial insects, compost
and other farming methods in place of chemical fertilisers and intensive
farming techniques.
Premium
An amount by which a price is increased in order to buy a product
of a higher grade or quality.
Pima cotton
Long staple cotton variety.
Polyester fibre
Generic name for a synthetic fibre made from polyethylene terephthalate.
Pressley
measurement of fibre strength
Quality
see also discountand premium
Raingrown
cotton
cotton grown using mainly water provided by the natural cycle of rainfall
rather than artificial irrigation. Also known as dryland cotton.
Ratoon cotton
crop that is cut back or cropped and is left to grow again for another
season.
Rayon fibre
A man-made fibre made from regenerated cellulose.
Reginned cotton
Reginned cotton is cotton that has passed through the ginning process
more than once, and has also already been baled. It may go through
the ginning again for additional cleaning, blending or the removal
of foreign material.
Ring-spinning
A system of continuous spinning of staple fibre.
Sea
Island cotton
Fine, long staple cotton grown in the West Indies.
Seed cotton
Unginned, picked cotton.
Short
Someone who has sold cotton futures or other contracts is said to
be short until he buys the contracts back or delivers the cotton at
the maturity date of the contract.
Single
Describes the ply of yarn. A single is the most popular ply and means
, raw cotton twisted into a single thread.
Spot quotations
Reported prices for all specific quality designations on a certain
trading day.
Spun yarn
Yarn spun from staple fibre held together by twist.
Staple
Cotton fibre considered with regard to its length and fineness.
short staple : less than 25 mm
medium staple : 25 to 30 mm
long staple : 30 to 37 mm
extra long staple : 37mm and above
Strength
prices : firmness or steadiness
fibre : power of the fibre to sustain the application of force (as
applied in spinning) without breaking.
Strike price
The price specified in the option contract at which the xxxx futures
or commodity will move from seller to buyer.
Synthetic fibres
Fibres or filaments produced from polymers. Not naturally occurring.
Tare
The weight of wrapping bands or wires used to cover cotton bales.
Technical
analysis
The attempt to forecast future market action on the basis of past
price behaviour. The underlying assumptions are that price fluctuations
are not strictly independent and that certain chart formations tend
to correlate with subsequent price direction.
Tex
(grams per kilometre) A direct decimal count system for describing
the linear density (mass per unit length) of fibres, filaments and
yarns. The lower the number, the finer the thread.
Trash
the leaf content of ginned lint.
Uniformity
The degree to which the fibres in a sample are uniform based on the
ration of mean length to the upper half mean length. Given as a percentage.
Universal Cotton Standards
Refers to American Upland Cotton. Established in 1924 as an aid to
promoting domestic and foreign trade. Recognised by 18 countries in
Europe, South America and Asia
Upland cotton
Originally used to refer to cotton grown on raised lands not prone
to flooding. Now refers to short and medium staple cottons.
Viscose fibre
A man-made fibre spun from regenerated cellulosic material.
Warp
Threads which run parallel to the loom
Weft
Threads which run at right angles to the warp .
Weave
The manufacturing of cloth by the interlacing of yarns
Worsted
Worsted yarns are made from long fibers of 3 to 6 inches, which are
combed to lie parallel to each other, producing a smooth, clean look.
They are usually fine, tightly twisted ply yarns.
Yarn number
cotton yarn is measured by yarn number, based on how many hanks (840
yards) there are in 1 lb of yarn. The higher the number the finer
the thread