The Egyptian cotton does not need any introduction from any kind , it is a world famous product of Egypt. It was among our major exports and our major sources of income besides the Suez Canal , tourism and oil products. For nearly two centuries the cotton and its industry in Egypt were thought to be from our pillars of economy that won’t be shaken but as I said “Were” because now one of the achievements of President Mubarak is making our White gold a scarce commodity !!
The following numbers are from the central agency for public mobilization and statistics. They were published last month and up till now there has been no real governmental reaction or comment on it.
The results of second quarter of fiscal year 2008/2008 :
- The total cotton exports have declined by 90%
- The total local cotton in Egypt whether for local consumption or export has declined by 74% compared to last year in the same period.
- The value of cotton exports have declined by 84.8%
- The local consumption of Egyptian cotton has declined compared to last season by 75% !!
Do not please tell me that this is the impact of the financial crisis because this is the results of the long policies adopted by the ministry of agriculture during the Mubarak’s era especially in the long era of Youssef Wali and the current minister Amin Abaza , businessman Amin Abaza who works in cotton import as far as I know !! “Is not this a conflict of interest”
The Egyptian factories are importing cotton from all over the world 
The government told us that the QIZ would save the Egyptian cotton but it did not I am afraid. The government as usual blames the farmers whom by their turn blame the government and I am afraid they are right , the government plays with specific games through the seeds they provide for them in the agricultural associations. The farmers were the first people to alert us but we did not listen
Another part of the Egyptian cotton agony is the textile industry , our Mahalla factories were world famous for their excellent productions but where are they now ?? If it were not for the wonderful stand of the workers there ,the factories would have privatized and sold for the cheapest prices.
This is another achievement of the Mubarak’s era.The country of the Egyptian cotton imports cotton from abroad!!
From the financial times : Egypt’s cotton kingdom cut down to size
The photo : Late princess Faiza, sister of late King Farouk as a model for Al Mussawar magazine pre –1952 of course wearing a dress made of pure Egyptian cotton , the princess was encouraging Egyptians to buy Egyptian textiles.
Hello,
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere apologies for my terrible behavior and awful comments about Arabs and Islam. I was referred to on your blog as the Zionist and such.
Growing up in Israel, I only had three encounters with Arabs: once with an Arab Christian woman where I was hospitalized, once with a classmate of my brother at Tel-Aviv University, once with a Druze in the Israeli army who wanted to improve his English and go to the USA.
I tend to start conversations with strangers, which gets me in trouble. I have recently had conversations with Muslims on buses and in shops. etc. We are all the same. I told them I was Jewish, lived in Israel. I was expecting a reaction; the only reaction I received was no reaction.
Again, if you can, please accept my sincere apologies for my abominable behavior. I will never discuss politics again, specifically the Mid-East conflict. This is not a whim; I will not start hating Muslims and Arabs tomorrow.
Regards,
Daniel