The Minister of Public Business Sector discusses procedures for listing cotton for trading through the Commodity Exchange
Within the framework of the state’s general policy to support agricultural production and farmers, and to ensure maximum returns from the sale of agricultural crops, in a manner that guarantees covering production costs and achieving an appropriate profit margin, especially for strategic crops such as cotton to encourage expansion of its cultivation, provide the needs of the local market and export the quantities required to maintain the share of Egyptian cotton in the global market.
Ali Shaker, Managing Director and CEO of the Commodity Exchange, and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of Rasha Omar, Assistant Minister for Project Development Affairs, and Ratiba Abu Al-Shall, President of Misr Cotton Ginning and Trading Company.
The meeting discussed the necessary procedures to include Egyptian cotton for trading within the commodity exchange, in a way that contributes to improving and organizing the process of marketing and trading cotton as an important strategic crop that the state seeks to expand in its cultivation within the framework of the national project to develop the spinning and weaving industry, which includes all stages related to the industry, starting from cotton cultivation, trade and marketing, through the operations of ginning, spinning, weaving and dyeing, leading to a final product that is able to compete in the local and foreign markets under the two brands “Net” and “Mahalla”.
Dr. Mahmoud Esmat confirmed that the philosophy of the current trading system, which is being supervised by the Ministry’s Misr Cotton Trading and Ginning Company, is based on selling directly from farms to the company without intermediaries through public auctions. The basic opening price of the auction is determined in complete transparency, and farms witness bidding between trading companies for its cotton, referring to the efforts made by the ministry last season to ensure that farmers get appropriate prices, including canceling some bidding sessions and contacting foreign markets directly, and directing Misr Cotton Trading and Ginning Company to enter as a buyer in Sometimes, in order for the farmer to obtain rewarding returns that motivate him to continue and expand the cultivation of the strategic crop.
Dr. Esmat said that the national project to develop the spinning and weaving industry, with huge investments, as well as private sector factories, all depend on Egyptian cotton, which requires taking the necessary measures to support this strategic crop and expand its cultivation while ensuring that farmers get remunerative prices, including the introduction of cotton among the crops traded on the commodity exchange such as wheat and corn, explaining that the farmer will remain the decision-maker in selling his cotton when reaching the right price for him.
The minister directed the continuation of meetings and coordination between the officials of the Commodity Exchange and Misr Cotton Ginning and Trade Company to reach the optimal formula for entering the stock market in marketing the cotton crop, whether in collection, sorting, weighing and cleaning centers or in registration, bidding and awarding operations through the stock exchange platform, and the adoption of a marketing and sales policy that guarantees the rights of farmers and the expansion of cultivation of the strategic crop, referring to the start of marketing for the current season next September.
