Egypt’s 2019/20 cotton output to drop 31% – USDA

Egypt’s cotton production will drop 31 percent in the marketing year 2019/20 to 337,000 bales from 489,000 in 2018/19, a recent report by the US Department of Agriculture’s Cairo office showed.

The country’s cotton area harvested is also expected to drop by almost 31 percent to 97,000 hectares (around 142,000 feddans), from 141,000 hectares (352,000 feddans) in 2018/19.

The forecast production and cotton area harvested decline is attributed to low prices fueled by high production in 2018 and a surplus carried over into 2019, the USDA report read.

In 2019/20, USDA Cairo said Egypt’s total lint cotton exports to decrease by 24 percent to 220,000 bales, while imports are expected to

“In MY  2018/19, post estimates Egypt’s total lint cotton exports at 290,000 bales.  India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, and Switzerland were Egypt’s top export destination in MY 2018/19 and are expected to remain so in MY 2019/20.” the USDA Cairo report added.