Egypt: Egypt’s 2016 Cotton Production Set to Plummet
Post is revising Egypt’s MY2016/17 cotton PSD as the latest field surveys indicate a dramatic plunge in planted area of 50 percent to 50,000 ha from MY2015/16, as farmers are particularly wary of planting cotton without a strong government commitment to market the crop. In consequence, production is revised down from 395,000 bales to an all-time low of 160,000 bales, a drop of 53 percent from last year’s production of 320,000 bales. Post maintains its forecast of lint consumption at 590,000 bales. Imports are forecast to increase by 18 percent to 530,000 bales, while exports are forecasted to decrease to 120,000 bales, a drop of 20 percent from last year.
