Egypt increases area planted with cotton by 23 percent

CAIRO – 28 September 2024: This year, the Ministry of Agriculture successfully increased the area planted with cotton by 23% compared to the previous season, expanding from 255,000 acres to 311,700 acres nationwide.

Of this total, 70,584 acres have been designated for producing the seeds needed for next year's targeted cultivation areas, said the Ministry in a statement on Saturday.

This year's cotton crop is projected to yield between 1 million and 200, 000 quintals, the statement added.

On August 11, 2024, the Egyptian Cabinet indicated that Egypt's output of cotton reached 2.1 million metric quintals in 2023, and that extra-long and long staple cotton composed 81 percent while the rest is medium and short staple.

Communication Coordinator at the Cotton Research Institute Mostafa Emara stated in July that a highly productive commercial long-staple specie – dubbed Giza 99 or Extra Giza - will be endorsed in 2025.

The specie is the outcome of mixing Giza 93 and Giza 71, and has a productivity of 8-9 quintals per feddan. The last high-quality specie endorsed in 2022 was Giza 98. It has a productivity of 10 quintals per feddan, and is cultivated in Sohag and the New Valley this season.