WT/CFMC/W/96  
 
21 October 2021  
(21-7964) Page: 1/2 
Sub-Committee on Cotton  Original: English  
 
 
THE DIRECTOR -GENERAL'S CONSULTATIVE FRAMEWORK MECHANISM ON COTTON  
WORLD COTTON DAY 2021  
Communication by Egypt  
The following communication, dated 19 October 2021, is being distributed at the request of the 
delegation of Egypt.  
 
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1  THE EGYPTIAN COTTON IS BACK TO THE GLOBAL MARKET  
1.1.  The Egyptian cotton is unique of its type, it has a very high quality. It gained a worldwide 
reputation for more than a century and half as one of the highest lint quality in global markets . 
Although Egypt contributed by 60% of world production of high -quality cotton during the 
period  1960- 1970, its share has decreased to less than 25% of world production of Long Staple and 
Extra -Long Staple cotton by the end of the last century, due to flu ctuations in cotton market and 
other several factors.  
1.2.  The Egyptian government has exerted efforts to restructure and develop the cotton sector, 
aiming to reconquer the international market. In this respect, the strategy of the Egyptian 
government to devel op the cotton sector is divided to six main areas: Research, Extension, 
Production, Trading, and Ginning and textile industry .  
2  ROLE OF COTTON RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION  
2.1.  The Cotton Research Institute (CRI) has succeeded in combining the  high quality with the high 
yield potential through breaking the negative correlation between yield and quality, in order to grow 
high-quality cotton that can satisfy the needs of local market as well as meet the requirements of 
exporting. For example, the  Giza 97 cotton type, is the newest cotton type which is characterized 
by high yielding for cotton lint about 1500 kg /hectare, with high quality lint.  
3  ROLE OF COTTON RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE EXTENSION OF COTTON PRODUCTION  
3.1.  CRI has made some achievements on cotton -related social, developmental and environmental 
aspects, as follows:  
Better cotton initiative (BCI) : 
 
Egypt was officially listed as a producer of BCI cotton and was granted a certificate for the 
season  2020. The second phase of the Better Cotton Initiative for the Egyptian Cotton Project is 
being implemented in partnership with the Italian government and UNIDO. This project helped to 
increase the production area from 2 ,500 acres in the 2020 season to 8194 acres in the current one.  
 
International Labor Organization (ILO) : 
 
CRI has contributed to the implementation of the national plan to combat the worst forms of child 
labor and family support (2018 -2025).  WT/CFMC/W/96  
 
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  National campaigns and extension programs:  
 
CRI has implemented a national cam paign to improve the productivity of the cotton crop to 
(1) Increase productivity, (2) Encourage the intercropping, as one of our goals for better usage of 
unit area, and (3) Improve harvesting procedures, and reduce mechanical pollution rates.  
 
CRI is als o carrying out a number of training courses, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, in 
the framework of capacity building programs for some African countries.  
4  THE ROLE OF CRI IN SUPPORTING THE COTTON INDUSTRY  
4.1.  The field of cooperation with industry inclu des: 
1. The fiber research labs of CRI has been renovated and equipped with the HVI 1000 device, 
which is the latest technology used to test and evaluate the quality characteristics of the fibers 
in our research programs, as well as in the industrial sector.  
2. The CRI Center of Excellence was established to benefit from modern technologies in 
classifying and grading the Egyptian cotton fibers, in order to renew quality specifications with 
high accuracy.  
3. Cooperation with numerous factories w ere enhanced, such as Filmer in Burj Al Arab near 
Alexandria city, Giza Factory in Al -Sadat City, and PEDCO in the Tenth of Ramadan district, to 
treat dyeing defects, poor quality properties, and reduce sugar and viscosity in cotton fibers, 
so as to give a tender touch.  
4. The CRI  assists in implementing a complementary plan to improve cotton cultivation, cotton 
trading and cotton manufacturing.  
5  THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN DEVELOPING THE NEW COTTON TRADING SYSTEM  
5.1.  In an attempt to restore the Egyptian cotton’s global standing, a t ripartite cooperation between 
the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Trading and Industry, and the Ministry of Public Sector 
was conducted to adopt a new system for cotton marketing, to maintain its purity, as well as improve 
the trade of cotton in t he local market.  
5.2.  The new system relies heavily on receiving the cotton produced directly from the farmers at 
the collection centers, while all technical procedures for classifying, grading and auctioning cotton 
take place in cooperation with the private sector, in a compet itive and transparent process.  
5.3.  The new cotton trading system contributed to the improving of cotton trade, and overcoming 
all obstacles that negatively affect the Egyptian cotton quality, especially the collection and 
packaging process. Cotton can now onl y be received through identification and agricultural holding 
cards, to prevent any kind of fraud by intermediaries.  
6  THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN DEVELOPING GINNING AND TEXTILE SECTOR  
6.1.  Egypt has implemented a megaproject to develop the cotton sector by com pletely improving 
and replacing the old gins and factories to revive the textile industry, in an attempt to increase the 
cotton added value, instead of exporting it as a raw material.  
6.2.  The government has inaugurated the “Al -Rubiki” industrial city for spinn ing, weaving and 
leather industries, which is the largest industrial city in the Middle East. The new Industrial zone in 
Al-Rubiki, includes six factories equipped with the latest operating technology: A fine spinning 
factory, a thick spinning one, three f actories for preparing, weaving, knitting, and another one for 
dyeing and printing. In this respect, a textile centre, one of the largest of it is kind, will be soon 
opened.  
6.3.  Finally, the Egyptian government has developed an ambitious plan to improve the co tton sector 
in all areas, in an effort to take advantage of owning the best cotton quality, and work to maximize 
it's added value, by applying the international standards for sustainability at all stages of cotton 
production and processing.  
 
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