By George Mwangi

Special to Dow Jones Newswires


Egypt's cotton production is forecast to rise by 14% in the marketing year beginning August 2022 through July 2023, the U.S. agriculture department said.

Production is expected to increase to 320,000 480-pound bales from 280,000 bales this year, the department said late Monday in its Egypt: Cotton and Products Annual report. The area harvested is forecast to grow to 97,000 hectares from 85,000 hectares.

Higher demand in 2021--which has remained high into 2022--and a surge in prices, have encouraged farmers to plant cotton, the report said.

Prices in Egypt have increased nearly 100% this year, with the upper-long staple varieties at 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($269.32) a quintar. A quintar is 50 kilograms of lint cotton. Lower-long staple cotton reached EGP3,000 a quintar, it said.

Domestic consumption is expected to drop by 9%, to 500,000 bales this year, and imports are forecast to remain unchanged at 550,000 bales in 2022-23.

"Public spinners are still under renovation, limiting domestic use," the report said. "Additionally, local prices are considerably higher than imported cotton."

However, the country plans to set up the world's largest spinning and weaving factory in Mahalla al-Kubra, at a cost of about EGP900 million.


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-27-22 0637ET