I
n December 2016, Abrapa inaugurated
the Brazilian Reference Center on Cot-
ton Analysis (CBRA, in the Portuguese
acronym). It is one of the three pillars
of the Standard Brasil HVI (SBRHVI) pro-
gram, whose basis also includes the Na-
tional Database on Quality and Guidelines
to fiber analysis laboratories. The CBRA
came as an official reference of the classi-
fications conductedbyHigh Volume Instru-
ment (HVI) inBrazil, so as to add evenmore
credibility to the cotton produced in Brazil,
along with a feeling of safety to those who
buy and sell the fiber.
Result of an investment of about R$ 9
million, the CBRA is scheduled to start op-
erating in the 2016/17 growing season. Its
capacity is for analyzing 800 samples per
day, in its two HVI machines, and was di-
mensioned to check the equivalent of up
to twice the current 1.5 million tons of cot-
tonproduced inBrazil. The controlled envi-
ronment inside the laboratory ensures the
ideal temperature andmoisture conditions
for all the analyzing operations.
The HVI technology is the most ad-
vanced and recurrent in the world for clas-
sifying cotton. It evaluates with precision
the fiber’s intrinsic and extrinsic charac-
teristics, like length, resistance, uniformity,
thickness and reflectance, among others,
minimizing visual classification’s subjectiv-
ity, which still exists, along with the HVI.
The resources for the construction and
the instrumentation of the CBRA represent
a share of the R$ 50 million already applied
by Abrapa and its associated entities in the
Quality Program, which included invest-
ments in the improvements of the labora-
tories that serve the farmers. Now, there are
13 laboratories operating throughout the
national territory. According to Abrapa pres-
ident Arlindo de Azevedo Moura, the CBRA
is determined toupgrade the national labo-
ratories, which have joined the program, to
achieve the same level of perfection of the
best laboratories in the world. “The center,
as part of the SBRHVI, is entirely focused on
traceability and quality. It will help strength-
en the imageof our cotton in theglobalmar-
ketplace “, arguesMoura.
Brazilian Reference Center on Cotton
Analysis(CBRA), inauguratedbyAbrapa, isengaged
instrengtheningtheimageofBraziliancotton
Certified
origin
Divulgação
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