Universal Cotton Standards

The US Department of Agricultures Agricultural Marketing Service has announced the Universal Cotton Standards Advisory Committees recommendation to revise the Universal Cotton Standards Agreement by adopting USDAs HVI (high volume instrument) cotton trash standards as universal standards.

The UCSA is an agreement between USDA, the US cotton industry and overseas cotton associations of merchants and textile manufacturers that provides for the trading of US cotton on the official standards of the US for Upland cotton. AMS states that adoption of the Universal HVI Cotton Trash Standard will ensure that the USDAs cotton trash measurement serves as the internationally accepted universal language for cotton trash measurements. AMS is also changing the frequency of Universal Cotton Standards conferences from once every three years to once every four years to provide improved cost efficiency while continuing to provide the necessary framework for future considerations to the universal cotton standards.