The Egyptian Cabinet agreed in its meeting Monday to raise the public spinners’ subsidy to EGP 500 million, adding EGP 300 million to the current EGP 200 million, as to revitalize the cotton and textile sectors, according to Cairo Post.
The public and private spinners will get EGP 350 subsidy from each purchased kantar of Egyptian cottons in the current marketing season of 2013-2014, Minister of Industry and Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said.
“The government will also grant exporters a EGP 200 subsidy for each exported kantar,” he said and that Egypt’s productions of cotton will be increased up to 1 million kantars.
About EGP 350 million of the financial allocation will be directed to subsidize the public and private sectors along with the exporters, he added. The remaining EGP 150 million will be directed to supporting farmers “by presenting subsidized seeds and fertilizers,” re-running the bankrupted spinners, and revitalizing the sector as a whole.
The government seeks to encourage public spinners and exporters to purchase Egyptian cotton instead of exported cotton, who previously refrained from purchasing Egyptian cotton because of its high prices.