Egypt's cotton prices have almost doubled to a record level in 2021, shows the latest report by Cotton Research Institute. Growth is mainly attributed to the government’s initiative of promoting the textile industry, by expanding the cultivated areas and improving the quality of seeds. As per the Big News Network, the price of a qantar of cotton (45 kg of lint cotton) has surged more than 70 per cent to 3,900 Egyptian pounds (nearly $248) compared to $114.5 last year. Hisham Mosad, Manager, Cotton Research Institute attributes the rise in cotton prices to new marketing system that depends on holding auctions across the country periodically and the government's new approach of selling cotton this season.

The cotton planting area in Egypt increased to 236,000 feddans (991,200,877 sq m), in 2021 compared to 183,000 feddans (768,600,680 square meters) in 2020, Mosad says, predicting that cotton will represent a big share in the types map of plantation across the country in the coming few years. So far, some 20 countries have signed contracts with Egypt to import Egyptian cotton, he said, naming India, Pakistan, the US, China, some EU countries, and Japan as the top importers of Egyptian cotton.

Egypt exports the majority of its long-staple cotton and imports three million qantars of short-staple cotton that is originally used in local textile production, according to official statistics.

However, under the government's new strategy for 2025, 60 percent of the cotton production will be used in local industries, adds Mosad.

By Fashionating World
https://www.fashionatingworld.com/new1-2/egypt-s-cotton-prices-double-in-2021