Egypt's cotton exports saw an increase of 63.9 percent in the first quarter of the 2016/17 agricultural year, read a statement by state statistics body CAPMAS on Thursday. In an e-mailed statement, CAPMAS said the increase came between September and November 2016 for the agricultural year 2016/2017. According to the statement, the rise can be attributed to leftover cotton stock from the previous year. In the first quarter of the agricultural year, Egyptian cotton exports reached 202.5 thousand metric kantar (one kantar is equal to 45.02 kilogrammes), compared to 123.6 thousand metric kantar in the same period the year before. CAPMAS also announced a decline of 5.3 percent in the total amount of domestic cotton consumed in the country, which registered 107 thousand metric kantar in the September-November 2016 period, compared to 113 in the same period the previous year. The state statistic's body attributed the drop in consumption to a number of spinning factories that suspended operations. CAPMAS added that the amount of cotton ginned also dropped, shrinking 516.9 percent year-on-year during the first quarter of the agricultural year. The amount of cotton ginned reached 263.8 thousand metric kantar in the September-November 2016 period, compared to 42.8 thousand metric kantar for the same period in the previous season. Egyptian cotton has enjoyed a long reputation as one of the highest quality cottons in the world, its export playing a historically vital role in the country's economic prosperity. The US Department of Agriculture estimated that Egypt's total lint cotton production was set to increase by 23 percent in the marketing year (MY) 2016/17, to reach 395,000 bales. According to the USDA, the expected increase in production would result from an anticipated 20 percent increase in the crop's total planted area to 120,000 hectares this year, producing an increase in yields from 3.2 bales/ha to 3.3 bales/ha. Cotton Egypt Association, a non-profit association established in 2005 with support from the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, created a certification last year to verify whether a product is made from 100 percent authentic Egyptian cotton. The association says on its website that the Egyptian Cotton Gold Seal is "part of a new DNA-based authentication program designed to rid the supply chain of falsely labelled goods."
