Peach Tree Times

A group of Americans working in the cotton sector recently visited the Texhong Renze Vietnam factory, including Kent Fountain, the immediate past chairman of the National Cotton Council. 

Texhong Renze gave Fountain a presentation of the SAP software system, which precisely tacks cotton as it moves across supply networks. According to reports, the mill imports over 100,000 tons of cotton from the U.S. every year. In return, Vietnam exports 42% of its textile and garment production to the U.S. Vietnam is one of the principal foreign consumers of American cotton. Texhong produced up to 20% of the $5.6 million worth of yarn that Vietnam shipped in 2021. 

“With the resurgence of cotton in the mid-90s, the NCC decided to invite all the new ginners to attend its annual meeting in 1996,” Fountain told Cotton Grower. “That’s where I met a fellow ginner from Georgia, Ronnie Lee, who became a friend and also has been active in the NCC over the years. That first meeting introduced me to the council, and it has been a progression of industry involvement ever since.”

In 2021, Fountain, a ginner from Surrency, Georgia, was reelected to lead the National Cotton Council. He serves as the director of the Cotton Growers Warehouse Association's and the Staple Cotton Cooperative Association. At the University of Georgia, Fountain completed his academic training and earned a degree in agricultural economics, according to cotton.org. Fountain has been replaced by Ted Schneider, a Lake Providence, Louisiana, producer. He was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2022 during the organization’s annual meeting in Houston.

From 2014 to 2019, Vietnam's export of cotton products increased at a rate of 17% annually, bringing in $39 billion in yearly profits, the majority of which came from apparel exports, Vietnam Briefing reported.

With its headquarters in Hong Kong, Texhong Textile Group Ltd. primarily conducts business in mainland China, Vietnam and Macao. It is essential to the production, marketing and processing of colored clothing, according to Reuters. It is valued at around $1 billion.