Egypt’s minister of trade and industry Amr Nassar and minister of agriculture and land reclamation Ezz El Din Abu Steit recently issued a joint decree that said cotton trading in the country will be according to the terms and regulation approved by the local cotton trading committee. The decree regulates cotton trading for the 2019-20 season. Nassar said the new system would restore the position of Egyptian cotton globally and maintain confidence in it, adding that his ministry is coordinating with the agriculture ministry to improve the cotton production system and diversify its uses in the domestic industry. The decree also limits cotton trading to specified collection points. Moreover, farmers are allowed to get the highest possible price through auctions, and the prices will be set according to international cotton prices and the comparative advantage of Egyptian cotton, according to a report in English-language media outlet. The decree also links all the collection points electronically to ensure transparency, with a consideration for applying the new system through new collection points in Beni Swaif and Fayoum governorates as a pilot version to avoid any problems in the future. Last week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli asserted that Egypt is keen on developing and supporting the textile sector as well as planting and selling Egyptian cotton. The government plans to restore the status of Egyptian cotton globally, he said. Minister of public business sector Hisham Tewfik said his ministry has allocated EGP 21 billion to maximise the added value of Egyptian cotton as part of a plan to improve this sector. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistic (CAPMAS) announced in February 2019 that Egyptian cotton exports, in the period between September and November 2018, reached 128.3 metric quintals compared to the same period of 2017, an increase of about 45.1 per cent.
