Olam is one of the world’s largest cotton companies and a universal supplier of all cotton growths to the world’s textile markets. Today, we have a global supply network of over 100,000 farmers, ginners and suppliers, matched by an established and diversified customer base across all our markets. We maintain cotton operations around the globe.

We have a dominant presence in Africa, with ginning operations in 6 countries as well as long-standing relationships with cotton marketing boards and ginners across all cotton producing countries. We are also the leading supplier of medium and extra-long staple cotton from Central Asia. In India, we have established an extensive origination infrastructure across all of the country’s major growing regions.

In the USA, we have a well-diversified presence across four States and are a leading supplier of Pima, SJV and Certified Fibermax cotton varieties. In Brazil  we have long standing relationships with growers and have a significant share in export and domestic markets. With our acquisition of Queensland Cotton in 2008, Australia, we have a significant market share and are one of the largest ginner and exporters. The dominant prescence is anchored on strong relationships with growers.

ORIGINATION

We are a universal supplier of all growths of cotton to the world’s textile markets, sourcing our cotton from all 4 major growing continents – Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Over the years, we have built up solid origination experience both in leveraging our knowledge and expertise to assist farmers and ginners obtain a fair price for their produce, and in providing them with guidance on better crop management practices. This, in turn, provides us with a consistent supply of good quality cotton.

PROCESSING

Olam is the largest private ginner in the world, with significant ginning investments in Africa, Australia and the USA, and ginning operations in India and China.

This full control over the raw cotton supply chain, enables us to improve lint quality and produce customised, contamination-controlled cotton.

Using the latest technology, our world-class ginning systems help improve on fibre quality, benefitting both grower and spinning mill. In Africa, our ginning programmes involve partnering with growers, regulatory agencies and logistics providers to improve farm productivity and seed cotton handling processes, thereby improving economic benefits for the industry.

In effectively combining exceptional processing standards, leading-edge technology, world-class ginning equipment,
stringent maintenance programmes and highly-trained operators, we have been able to enhance grower confidence to produce superior and consistent quality cotton safely.

MARKETING

We are a major supplier of cotton to the world’s textile markets, servicing both cotton producers and spinning mills worldwide. Our experienced team helps to develop and maintain long-term relationships with our customers, supplying them with timely quality cotton in accordance with their requirements.

Our central marketing office is in Singapore, in close proximity to the world’s major consuming markets. We also have marketing offices in the USA, China, India, Turkey and Vietnam, and carry inventories in China, Malaysia, Turkey and the UAE to meet any just-in-time customer requirements. We also operate captive warehousing spaces in the USA, Australia, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and Nigeria, to offer our customers a variety of flexible shipping arrangements and up-to-date information and shipment tracking.

RISK

We have developed risk management as a core competence. Our capacity to identify, capture, measure, monitor, manage and control potential business risks, is due to our direct presence in all the major cotton-markets worldwide.

By obtaining first-hand information on emerging supply and demand dynamics, we are able to provide timely market intelligence to our customers. This has made us a global player in a relatively short time. Despite the challenges of the volatile commodity environment in controlling risks and protecting margins, our in-house expertise provides affordable risk management solutions to all our customers and suppliers. We can also customise our product offerings according to various pricing terms, currencies and tenors.

SUSTAINABILITY

We have strived to improve the livelihoods of rural cotton farming communities in emerging markets for many years. Through our integrated ginning model, we help farmers improve their income while minimising their environmental impact.

We do this by providing them with quality inputs and training on improved productivity practices, and maintaining soil and water quality to safely protect their crops. Replicable, scalable and widely known in African origins for its traceability, our integrated model places the gin at the hub of operations, and provides farmers with fair access to the global cotton market. We are a member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a progressive step to formalising a sustainable cotton supply to consumers. Through the BCI, we have helped both farmers and retailers verify their cotton to BCI standards, thereby improving their marketability. Please click here to see how we have addressed agricultural, financial and social issues to revive cotton production and smallholders’ livelihoods with our case study: Boosting cotton productivity and livelihoods in Côte d’Ivoire