Egypt revokes ban on cotton imports

16 Jul '15

2 min read

In a u-turn the Egyptian government has reversed a decision to halt cotton imports, according to media reports.

A cabinet statement said prime minister Ibrahim Mehleb had requested a study on cotton policy, while "the import of cotton for this year has been permitted".

Last week agriculture ministry Salah Helal had issued the ban order on all cotton imports in a bid to assist production and marketing of the local crop.

Ahead of the cabinet’s decision to revoke the ban, the heads of the export councils and the head of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) expressed their reservations in a separate meeting and described the move as catastrophic. They said the ban would attract negative consequences on their contracts and obligations towards the local and external markets.

The head of the farmers syndicate, Nasser Farid, demanded that Helal reconsider his decision because the textile industry system operates with two types of cotton. Machines at public sector factories operate using long staple cotton, while private sector machines operate with short staple cotton, which is imported from abroad.

The initial ban order had drawn a sharp response from Greece which said it would hit its exports to Egypt. The Greek government warned that the decision may force it to take similar action against Egyptian exports to Greece. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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