Has the Time Come forGrowing American Upland Cotton‘Hirsutum’ in Egypt?
Importance of cotton in the economic development is significant in both agriculture and industrial sectors in Egypt. The need to utilize as much spinning capacity as possible is an understandable objective of companies of textile industries. Also, it should be benefit its comparative of the Long and Extra long staple cotton to produce fine and extra fine yarns.
An important aspect of the fiber-to-yarn production process is the price and quality of the resulting yarn. The yarn should have optimal product characteristics, while maintaining as low a price as possible. From the early years of the twentieth century until nationalization in the early 1960 the Egyptian cotton spinning industry was privately owned and market oriented. However, with nationalization and publicly owned monopoly, the performance of the industry deteriorated. For more than 20 years after nationalization, spinners were forced to use high quality and expensive Egyptian lint to produce subsidized yarn and fabrics for the domestics market.
The major problem and challenge facing the Egyptian cotton textile industry is that Egyptian cotton has two distinct markets: the international market for producing fine and extra fine yarns (3% of total yarn production), and the domestic market for producing mainly coarse and medium count yarn (97% of total yarn production). The textile industry in Egypt, need cheaper cotton to cover the demand of the domestic market i.e. coarse and medium yarn counts. Coarse count cotton yarn produced from cheap MLS cotton is cheaper than coarse count yarn produced from expensive G. barbadense, even if the yarn is imported and subjected to tariffs and taxes.
Egypt produces only Extra Long and Long-Staple varieties “barbadense”, exports about half of its production and attempts to consume the rest domestically. Egypt is the only country in the world where the bulk of cotton consumption ELS and LS cottons (56%). By contrast, in the United Stats, American Pima, the Extra Long-Staple cotton varieties “barbadense”, represents less than 0.63 % of cotton production, and 95 percent of Pima production is exported. Only 1.49% and 3.98% of cotton consumption in the China and India is Extra Long Staple respectively, (Table 1).
Table 1: Consumption of all cotton categories for some countries from
2003/2004 to 2007/2008:
At the same time that the production of Egyptian cotton has declined, the market for these long and Extra-Long Staple cotton has diminished. The trend in the world market for cotton is towards increased utilization of short and Medium-Long Staple cottons. New spinning technologies and also innovation of Man-Made Fibers have improved such that Short and Medium Long Staple cottons are sufficient for production of relatively fine fabrics,. In addition, the demand worldwide for fine fabrics is around also 3% of total fabric production.
The state-owned spinning industry in Egypt is effectively forced to accept expensive Egyptian Long-Staple as its basic raw material. Only small shares of
spinners outputs are yarns for export, and most of those yarns are low-count less than 30Ne using the Long-Staple cotton varieties (Textile consolidation fund, 2003), so the Egyptian textile industries start to import Upland cottons from United States and day be day, Greek, Syria, Sudan and Uzbekistan becomes the main importer countries. The Egyptian textile industry has excuse, because the cotton category, which is suitable to spin into coarse and medium counts i.e. Medium Long Staple is not available.
Growing Upland cotton “Hirsutum” in Egypt
There has been considerable interest in the past in the potential for Upland cotton in Egypt. In the early 1980s and before, Egyptian scientists in Cotton Research Institute “CRI” and Universities conducted production trials of Upland cotton. The results of the main topic of research on Upland Cotton production as follow:
The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) in collaboration with the Ministry on Agriculture and Cotton Research Institute launched a field trials program in 1981 and 1982 to evaluate 28 American Upland cotton varieties “Hirsutum”. Two Hirsutum varieties (McNaire 220, McNaire 235) were tested and compared with several varieties of Egyptian cottons “ barbadense” in several locations throughout the country, in Alexandria, Nubarya, Giza research station, Cairo university, Assuit University, and Shandaweel Agricultural Research Station in Sohag governorate.
The objectives of the program included:
Introduce new varieties characterized by high yield potential and early maturity “120-130 day” and suitable for Upper Egypt.
To improve the economic use of land, by allocation more land for food crops.
To improve the use of scarce water by reducing water requirements for cotton.
To supply Medium Long Staple and cheap raw cotton to fulfill the requirements of the local spinning and textile industry.
To assess the potential of introducing profitable crops within the cotton rotation.
These trials concluded the following:
The yields of American Upland cotton varieties were significantly higher (around15 Kentar/Feddan of seed cotton, 17 Kentar/ Feddan of lint cotton) than the Egyptian cotton varieties (around 6 Kentar/Feddan of seed cotton, 7 Kentar/ Feddan of lint cotton) grown in the same location, as shown in the original figure.
American Upland cotton “hirsutum varieties” matured much earlier than the Egyptian cotton varieties (about 120-130 days compared with 170-190 for Egyptian varieties) and could thus be cultivated after winter crops.
American Upland cotton “hirsutum varieties” used significantly less water than Egyptian cottons. Upland cotton required five to seven irrigations, while Egyptian varieties required on average nine irrigations.
The scientific researches and experiences tell us that all other major Barbadense producing and exporting countries grow large areas of Hirsutum. The United States for example, produces more that 20 Million bales of Hirsutum cotton. Barbadense accounts for only 3.2 percent of total US cotton production. Barbadense cotton in Peru is only 20 percent of total production, and the same holds true for Israel, Tajikistan and other countries as well.
With proper regulations regarding cultivation of these two types of cotton, regulations which are already in place and enforced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt should be able to produce and profit by both types of cotton. Local production of American Upland cotton “Hirsutum” in Upper Egypt will be spun into coarse and medium yarn counts and substitute for imported raw Upland cotton and yarns, and Egyptian Long and Extra-Long Staple “Barbadense” in North Delta will be used for production of fine yarns and fabrics for export. This will also allow the Upper Egypt farmers to grow cotton in High area of production, Improved the industries which depends on Upland cotton “cotton ginning and cotton linter” also, allow the country to export greater amount of Barbadense cotton lint, and will ensure stability to those exports.
However, what should happen is not always what does happen.