The exports of cotton from Egypt declined by 69.7 percent in the third quarter of the agricultural season 2013-14, according to the data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Egypt exported 106,500 metric Kentar of cotton during March-May 2014, compared to exports of 351,700 metric Kentar made during the same period last year, CAPMAS said in its latest quarterly newsletter.
CAPMAS attributed the drop in cotton exports to the decrease of cultivated area due to the preference of farmers to grow other crops which are more profitable.
According to the quarterly bulletin, the amount of ginned cotton reached 395,000 metric Kentar during the three-month period, as against 485,900 metric Kentar of ginned cotton during the same period of the previous season, showing a decrease of 18.7 percent, due to a fall in cotton-cultivated area. Meanwhile, the total amount of cotton consumed by domestic enterprises reached 109,600 metric Kentar during the quarter versus 346,200 metric Kentar cotton consumed during the same period of the previous season, showing a decline of 68.4 percent. CAPMAS attributed this decline in domestic cotton consumption to closure of some spinning units and consumption of imported cotton by spinning units. (RKS)
