The Economics of Roller Ginning Technology and Implications for African Cotton Sector
This report is the final product of a follow-up study undertaken after the completion of the comparative analysis of organization and performance of cotton sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, a study published by the World Bank in 2008. The objective of this complementary study is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the main available technologies to separate the lint from the raw cotton, roller ginning and saw ginning, and carry out an economic analysis of the respective benefits of these two technologies for cotton producing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The study shows that the choice of ginning technology is an important factor of performance and is in turn influenced by the cotton sector structure. The type of ginning technology also has an impact on lint quality, and, as roller ginning is less damaging to the fiber than saw ginning, it can generate a price premium. The overall economic advantage of roller gins vs. saw gins appears to be significant in the Sub-Saharan African context, and likely to increase in the future as the demand for quality is becoming more and more stringent. Thus, although there are technical and organizational issues to address in order to fully capture the benefits of the technology, the introduction of roller ginning is likely to improve the competitiveness of African cotton and facilitate the transition towards more competitive cotton sectors.
Summary: | This report is the final product of a
follow-up study undertaken after the completion of the
comparative analysis of organization and performance of
cotton sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, a study published by
the World Bank in 2008. The objective of this complementary
study is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the
main available technologies to separate the lint from the
raw cotton, roller ginning and saw ginning, and carry out an
economic analysis of the respective benefits of these two
technologies for cotton producing countries of Sub-Saharan
Africa. The study shows that the choice of ginning
technology is an important factor of performance and is in
turn influenced by the cotton sector structure. The type of
ginning technology also has an impact on lint quality, and,
as roller ginning is less damaging to the fiber than saw
ginning, it can generate a price premium. The overall
economic advantage of roller gins vs. saw gins appears to be
significant in the Sub-Saharan African context, and likely
to increase in the future as the demand for quality is
becoming more and more stringent. Thus, although there are
technical and organizational issues to address in order to
fully capture the benefits of the technology, the
introduction of roller ginning is likely to improve the
competitiveness of African cotton and facilitate the
transition towards more competitive cotton sectors. |
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