Cabinet cancels decision to ban cotton imports

The cabinet cancelled a decision banning cotton import to Egypt on Wednesday. During a cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, which was still ongoing at the time of print, the door for importing cotton and conducting studies to define the market’s needs were discussed.

Minister of Agriculture Salah Helal had issued Monday a decision to ban cotton imports from abroad to protect Egyptian cotton farmers and avoid damaging the domestic industry.

On Tuesday, a meeting was also held to discuss the decision, as the heads of the export councils and the head of FEDCOC had reservations and described the move as catastrophic because of the negative consequences on their contracts and obligations towards the local and external markets. In addition, this decision could lead to fines on factories as a result of failure to meet these obligations.

However, no solutions were reached to end the current crisis.

The meeting included the Ministers of Industry and Foreign Trade, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, and Agriculture Salah Helal, heads of export councils, head of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), Chairman of the Holding Company for Spinning and Weaving Company, and head of the General Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives.