The total amount of cotton exports in the fourth quarter of the 2015/2016 agricultural year increased by 77.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt exported 139,900 metric kantar of cotton during June/August 2016, compared to 78,800 metric kantar the year before. CAPMAS said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the increase is due to the low price of Egyptian cotton in the international market compared to other countries' cotton prices, and the low volume of cotton exports in the same quarter of the previous year. The statement said India was the largest importer of Egyptian cotton, buying 61.7% of the total cotton exports—totalling 86,300 metric kantar. CAPMAS added that the total consumer volume of domestic cotton was 117,800 metric kantar during the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to 109,700 metric kantar in the fourth quarter of the previous year, a 7.4% increase. The amount of cotton that had been compressed from June to August is 21,600 metric kantar, compared to 38,400 metric kantar for the same period in the previous season, marking a decline of 43.8%. The amount of cotton that had been ginned from June to August stands at 70 metric kantar, compared to 40,400 metric kantar last year—a decline of 99.8%, said CAPMAS.
