Dubai Cotton Centre (DCC), a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), has launched new services for its members, including real time price quotes, online bidding and a 30-day free storage facility at Jebel Ali port.

The services drive comes as a move to strengthen Dubai’s position as a hub for the cotton trade in the Middle East, a statement said.

The announcement was made during DCC’s participation at the recently held fifth International Uzbek Cotton Fair 2009, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Through DCC’s membership, cotton traders will benefit from greater interaction and easy access to Central Asian Cotton, in addition to obtaining regular price updates on a real time basis, the statement added.

With access to DCC’s online price quotes, members will also be able to bid for their cotton requirements through the Internet. DCC will process these bids and respond suitably during business hours.

These bids would be based on the prices quoted by DCC for various cotton importing countries in Asia on cost and freight basis.

Further, DCC members can now avail of the 30-day free storage facility at Jebel Ali port for cotton purchased from DCC and shipped from Jebel Ali. This facility caters to the need for a neutral shipment hub, while assisting traders to manage their global inventory and logistics.

“DMCC’s strategic focus on cotton underlines its vision to strengthen Dubai’s position as a hub for agricultural commodities,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman, DMCC.

“Dubai’s geographical advantage, well-developed infrastructure and excellent trade relations will enable us to establish Dubai as a key link, connecting central Asia to leading cotton centres in Asia.”

Ashok Das, executive director, commodities, DMCC, said: “We are pleased to offer these new value-added services, which will enable ease of transactions for our members and facilitate smooth access to central Asian cotton.”

"The Dubai Cotton Centre is also exploring opportunities to enter into long-term arrangements with Cotton exporters from other regions in order to diversify its portfolio and provide access to a wider product range to its members at competitive rates," added Das.

DCC was established by DMCC to facilitate cotton exports from central Asia to the major cotton consuming markets in Asia.

It undertakes re-export of cotton from Dubai, using Jebel Ali port as the transshipment hub. By complimenting its existing services range with these new value added services, DCC offers to be a one-stop shop for cotton traders and end-users in Asia, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service