CAIRO, Feb 16 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt’s cotton exports jumped by 63.9 per cent during the first quarter of the planting season of 2016/17, the state’s official statistics agency said on Thursday.

In a statement, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) stated that Egypt’s cotton exports were 202,500 bales in the period from September-November compared to 123,600 bales in the same period the year before.

CAPMAS attributed the increase to the higher level of cotton stock available from the last season.

Egypt is famous for its extra-long and long-staple cotton, which are highly praised as the longer length of cotton fiber results in finer fabric. However, the extra-long and long-staple cotton are unsuitable for many textile operations as these rely on short- and medium-staple varieties.  

A Reuters report published on Monday indicated that demand for Egyptian cotton has increased in light of the weakness of the pound after its flotation in Nov. and a scandal over the alleged sale of falsely labelled Egyptian cotton. 

The Cotton Egypt Association, which provides an official logo to suppliers of 100 percent Egyptian cotton, estimates that about 90 percent of global supplies of Egyptian cotton last year were fake.

Production has largely dropped since 2011, a year of political upheaval that coincided with looser regulations that degraded the quality of local cotton, Nabil al-Santaricy, head of the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association, told Reuters.