At times it seems like we’re living in a science-fiction movie where we’re trying to escape from a hidden enemy – coronavirus. Unfortunately, in the words of Jason Bourne, “this is real.” The question we all deal with is how to balance medical realities with our fight to survive economically.
This issue of Commentator covers how the coronavirus, and its attendant disease COVID-19, have affected the cotton industry. Of course, the article is merely a snapshot due to the rapidly changing nature of the virus. Everyone is hoping for vaccines and therapeutics that will allow us to resume what we used to know as normal. Whether medical science can accomplish that safely and effectively in the next few months is unknown. However, we cannot assume the solution will come to pass quickly. Our approach is to continue to adapt to life as affected by the virus and hope that an answer comes sooner rather than later. We must keep going.
Changes in the way we communicate and gather will probably stay with us for the long term. Our sincere hope is that we can resume unrestricted, face- to-face contact with you as quickly as possible. Until that time, we are elevating our electronic communications capabilities and frequency to ensure that we do our best to get timely information to you. If you have ideas about ways for us to improve, we value your input.
Another area we continue to monitor closely is the Phase One U.S.- China Trade Agreement.
As you can see from these two charts, progress is slower than hoped and much more trade must occur quickly. For year-one and year-two obligations to be met, China must purchase
and take delivery before the end of 2020 and 2021, respectively. Amid tremendous headwinds, we remain hopeful that the U.S. and China will focus on the importance of trade.
Finally, I encourage you to stay focused on stress awareness and management. Maintaining good mental health is even more critical in the age of pandemics. Our web-based resources on pcca.com titled Farm Stress: Help and Hope continues to be frequently visited.
We will get through this together. Hang tough!
P.S.- I’m pleased to announce that Jayci Cave was recently named Director of Corporate Communications for PCCA. This Commentator marks her inaugural issue at the helm of our communications team. We look forward to her leadership.
