The Egyptian government will lift all restrictions on the export of particular cotton varieties in the year 2004/5, which began this month, Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid said on Sunday.
The government banned the export of certain long and medium staple varieties of cotton last year to make sure that local mills received enough cotton to keep running. The varieties included Giza 80, Giza 83, Giza 90, Giza 85 and Giza 89.
Rashid, speaking in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and quoted by the state news agency MENA, said: "All varieties of cotton will be available for export to international markets in the coming 2004/5 season."
"There will be no government intervention in export prices," the minister added, speaking after a meeting with members of the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association.
Economists have for years recommended Egypt abandon its policy of saving part of its long-staple crop for domestic consumption when it can fetch a higher price abroad. Egypt should import cheaper short-staple cotton instead, they say.
Egypt specialises in relatively valuable long-staple and extra long staple varieties of cotton.
Rashid said he expected international cotton prices to fall this year because of increases in the US and Egyptian crops.
An Egyptian official said separately that farmers had planted 750,000 acres (300,000 hectares) with cotton this year, compared with 535,000 acres (214,000 hectares) last year.
The government has cut the guaranteed minimum price it is offering farmers for their cotton this year but officials say that the prices are purely indicative and that in most cases traders offer the farmers higher prices.
The prices for long and medium staple varieties range from 620 pounds a qantar of lint cotton ($2,000 a tonne) for Giza 80 and 450 pounds for Giza 83 ($1,450 a tonne).
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