Brazil seeks to sell cotton to Egypt as market opens

Brazilian farmers aim to account for 20% of Egypt 's demand for cotton imports over the next two years and are organizing to seek this share already in the first half of 2023. The goal was set by the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association ( ABRAPA ) as Brazilian cotton broke into the Egyptian market earlier this month after Egypt and Brazil signed a phytosanitary agreement that set the rules for Brazil to supply cotton to the Arab country.

As the doors open, the sector is set to organize some trade promotion action in Egypt in the first months of the year, ABRAPA president Alexandre Schenkel (pictured above) said. According to Schenkel, this has been done in other countries in conjunction with the Brazilian embassies and agricultural attachés, and the same will be done in Egypt. The segment wants to show the quality of Brazilian cotton, the traceability of the production and the reliability of supply.

Egypt is a major cotton producer, but the country mostly grows long and extra-long staple cotton, which is a premium product. On the other hand, Brazil grows medium-fiber cotton.“Egypt imports some 120,000 tonnes a year, so we want to reach approximately 25,000 tonnes,” Schenkel told ANBA on the prospect of catering to around 20% of the country's imports. The ABRAPA's president said that this has been the Brazilian experience when breaking into new markets: achieving a 20% share of imports, with some going as high as 50%.