Salman Ispahani, new chief of global cotton assoc

Mirza Salman Ispahani, chairman of MM Ispahani Ltd, has been elected as the president of International Cotton Association (ICA) for 2017-18.

Ispahani is the first Bangladeshi and also the first spinner/buyer to be elected as the chief of the association, ICA said in a statement yesterday.

The ICA is the world's leading international cotton trade association and arbitral body.

It was formed in 1841 in Liverpool UK, when a group of cotton brokers created a set of bylaws and rules to help regulate the sale and purchase of raw cotton, according to the statement. About 90 percent of the world's cotton is traded internationally under the bylaws and rules of ICA, which has over 550 members across the globe.

The ICA—operated on a not-for-profit basis—offers a range of services, including arbitration, training, trade and networking events, plus cotton testing and research via international testing centre ICA Bremen.