Egypt to raise cotton production to meet high export orders

After a disastrous year for Egypt?s cotton industry in 2016, the country?s Agriculture Ministry has initiated measures to boost the cotton sector by improving and raising production of long-staple and medium-length cotton. It also plans to increase the area under cotton cultivation to 224,208 acres to meet export market demand. Despite the increase in production, Egyptian cotton exporters say production cannot meet the high export demand.

The government needs to ensure that cotton production in 2019 reaches at least 2 million quintals so that it can meet the global demand, Nabil al-Sanrisi, head of the Egyptian Cotton Exporters Association, reportedly told a local news outlet. According to Adel Abdul Azim, head of the country?s Cotton Improvement Fund, cotton growing areas would increase to 415,200 acres by 2019. Statistics show the value of Egyptian cotton exports fell by 4 per cent between 2012 and 2016.