CAIRO - 10 September 2022: On September 9, Egypt celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Farmer’s Day, which coincides with the day the agrarian reform law was issued and the ownership of agricultural lands redistributed from feudal hands to small farmers. Thus, the establishment of agrarian reform associations and the General Authority for Agrarian Reform to change the conditions of farmers.
In the following report, et highlights the state's most important efforts to promote cotton cultivation and support the farmer:
1- Three new cotton varieties were developed and registered, while Giza 98 variety is underway, bringing the productivity from 8 to 10 quintals per feddan.
2- The cultivated cotton area reached 370,000 feddans in 2022, compared to 90,000 feddans in 2014, an increase of 311.1%.
3- The price of a pound of cotton reached 6,000 pounds in 2021, compared to 800 pounds in 2014, after following the policy of auctions as a marketing mechanism, which guarantees the highest price for the farmer.
4- The inauguration of the new system for receiving and trading cotton, as it depends on receiving the cotton directly from farmers, and conducting auctions on it to ensure an appropriate price for farmers.
5- The success of the experiment of cultivating short-staple cotton in East Al-Owainat region during 2021 in reducing the import bill and providing local production requirements.
Developing spinning and weaving industry
Over the past years, Egypt has sought to provide an economic mix based on strengthening the industrial and service sectors. Egypt's abundance of Egyptian cotton, which is internationally known for its high quality, contributed to feeding the spinning and weaving industry, which is an important component of the national economy, and even allowed Egypt to be distinguished as one of the leading countries in this industry in the Middle East and Africa.
A study by the Egyptian Center for Thought and Studies stated that despite this, this industry faces a number of challenges that prompted the state to make efforts within its strategy aimed at developing the sector. Recently, Egypt launched the Textile Industries Council, and plans to establish a spinning and weaving complex in Sadat City in partnership with China to become the largest city for the textile industry.
The state also pays great attention to improving the mechanism underlying the textile and garment industry in Egypt to conform to international standards, allowing meeting the needs of the local market and enhancing the quality of Egyptian products for export to global markets.
Evolution of production and cultivated area of Egyptian cotton
Egypt has a very large textile and clothing industry that depends mainly on cotton fibers alone or mixed with other natural or synthetic fibers. According to the forecasts of the US Department of Agriculture for the year 2022/2023, the quantity produced will rise to 420,000 bales, compared to 280,000 bales in 2021/2022 and 215,000 bales in 2020/2021.
The Ministry stated that the area harvested from cotton will reach 130,000 hectares in 2022/2023, compared to 85,000 hectares in 2020/2021. The reason behind the increase in expectations is due to the high demand for cotton and consequently the increase in prices, which motivated farmers to continue growing cotton.
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