On July 15, the Egyptian cabinet meeting lifted the cotton import ban. The cotton import ban was issued by Egyptian Agriculture Minister Salah Helal on July 13 to protect the interests of Egyptian cotton farmers and avoid damage to the Egyptian cotton planting industry.
The cotton import ban sparked controversy as soon as it was announced. Relevant departments held a meeting to discuss this decision on July 14. The presidents of various exporters associations and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) both had reservations about this decision. They believed that this ban would have a negative impact on their relationship with domestic businesses. It will have a negative impact on foreign customers signing contracts and fulfilling contract obligations, and production companies will also pay fines because they cannot complete contract obligations. Nasser Farid, chairman of the Egyptian Farmers Federation, pointed out that Egyptian textile companies use two types of cotton for production and processing activities. Public enterprises mainly use long-staple cotton as raw materials for production and processing, while private enterprises mainly use short-staple cotton imported from abroad as raw materials for production and processing. In addition, the Greek government sent a note to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing its opposition to the Egyptian government’s cotton import ban, believing that the ban will have a negative impact on Greece’s exports to Egypt. The Greek government stated that if Egypt does not lift the ban, it will take similar measures against Egypt’s exports to Greece. Egypt’s cabinet meeting lifts cotton import ban