For eight days, a delegation of 12 Brazilian representatives took part in a technical and trade exchange mission run by the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association (Abrapa) and Cotton Brazil, in Egypt and Turkey. To enhance their analysis of the Egyptian textile industry and strengthen ties with Turkish mill owners, the “Egypt-Turkey Mission” ended this weekend on a positive note.  

“The Egyptian market needs Brazilian cotton to complement the fiber mix used by their spinners, and the quality of our cotton is well-regarded by the Egyptians”, explained Abrapa’s President, Alexandre Schenkel.  

The “Egypt-Turkey Mission” is part of Cotton Brazil’s calendar. Cotton Brazil is an Abrapa program that represents the Brazilian cotton production chain on a global scale. It’s run in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex Brasil) and the National Association of Cotton Exporters (Anea).  

The Brazilian delegation visited the Bidewi group in Alexandria – the first Egyptian spinners to import cotton from Brazil. And the feedback was positive.

“Brazilian cotton stood out in terms of operational performance and fibre quality compared to other countries. The key word is complementarity because, in addition to Egyptian long fiber, the textile industry also needs medium staple fibre,” Mr. Schenkel added.  

The agenda in Egypt also included a technical visit to the Agriculture Research Center. There, discussions were held on technical cooperation regarding production technology, focusing on genetic improvement for fibre quality. Additionally, during the visit to the state-owned Holding Company, Egypt’s largest cotton buyer, discussions centered on potential trade partnerships. 

Cotton Brazil Outlook and Egyptian textile industry 

In Cairo, the Egyptian capital, Abrapa held an edition of the “Cotton Brazil Outlook” seminar, where Abrapa’s Director of International Relations, Marcelo Duarte, provided updates on the 2024/25 crop season and future outlooks. The talk also emphasized the main assets of Brazilian cotton, highlighting the fact that more than 80% of Brazilian cotton has socio-environmental certification. 

Brazilian delegation in Egypt

The event attracted around 70 industry representatives, executives and investors. The opening speech was delivered by the Brazilian Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Paulino Franco, who emphasized the importance of the opening of the Egyptian market to Brazilian cotton – which began in January 2023. “One of the actions taken by the embassy has been to build up the necessary conditions for this trade to be increasingly leveraged,” he pointed out.  

Anea President Miguel Faus presented an overview of global trends in cotton market logistics, focusing on freight pricing. 

Numbers

In the 2022/23 season, Egyptian imports of Brazilian cotton totalled 99.5 tonnes. From August 2023 to March 2024, this amount had already reached 8,521 tonnes – 85 times more than in the 12 months of the previous market year.