Egypt's textile industry upgrade may impact global market's cotton supplies

Egypt is in the middle of a remodelling of its textile industry, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a process that will likely impact long staple cotton supplies from the country.

The rejuvenation process is mainly focused in, but not restricted to, the textile, spinning and weaving hub of al-Mahala al-Kobra, a city of Egypt's Nile Delta, around 120 kilometres north of Egyptian capital Cairo, where dozens of state-owned factories are undergoing a comprehensive upgrade after decades of neglect and deterioration.

The upgrade includes the merger of some of the city's spinning, textile and weaving factories, some of which are almost a century-old, on the road to creating major industrial complexes that spool tens of thousands of tonnes of fabric and manufactured products every day.

The Egyptian government, which has launched a national programme for the modernisation of the textile industry, allocates $1.1 billion for the renewal of its textile, spinning and weaving factories.

The first phase of the programme has already been completed, creating major industrial mergers, including what the Egyptian cabinet describes as the "world's largest textile factory".