Egypt cotton imports seen 23.8% lower in 2022-23

The U.S. Agriculture department late on Wednesday reduced Egypt's cotton imports by 23.8% due to lower domestic use.

The department now expects imports during the marketing year beginning August 2022 through September 2023 to fall to 400,000 480-pound bales compared with its previous forecast of 525,000 bales in January, it said in its February World Markets and Trade report.

In 2021-22, Egypt imported 350,000 bales of cotton, it said.

Egypt's cotton production in the current year is estimated at 420,000 bales, up 50% from 280,000 bales a year earlier, it said.

In recent years, the Egyptian government has taken control of cottonseed supplies to enhance the Egyptian cotton brand, after the quality had declined due to farmers reusing seeds, the USDA said in its recent Egypt: Cotton and Products Annual report.

The Egyptian government plans to set up the world's largest spinning and weaving factory in Mahalla al-Kubra, at a cost of about 900 million Egyptian pounds ($29.8 million), according to the U.S. report.