Egypt Targets 1.3-1.4 Million Qintars of Cotton in the 2026-27 Season

Production target and planted area

Egypt is targeting output of 1.3 million to 1.4 million qintars of seed cotton in the 2026-27 marketing season from a planted area of close to 203,000 feddans, according to preliminary Ministry of Agriculture estimates cited by bloom-gate.com. Al Arabiya Business, which reviewed the ministry's preliminary data, puts the resulting crop at about 71,000 tonnes.

Mostafa Emara, official spokesman for the Agricultural Research Center, said the figures reflect preliminary estimates for the new season and that final numbers will become clearer as picking advances. Harvesting has already begun in several Upper Egypt governorates. The Egyptian cotton marketing year opened this September and runs through the end of August next year.

Available supply narrows by about 10%

Carry-in stocks from the previous season stand at roughly 25,000 tonnes. Added to the new crop of about 71,000 tonnes, that brings total supply available through next August to some 96,000 tonnes, according to the ministry's preliminary estimates.

At the opening of the previous marketing season the comparable figure was about 107,000 tonnes, so the available pool has contracted by close to 10%. That total sets the ceiling on what Egypt can deliver to export customers and domestic spinning mills combined over the coming twelve months.

Exports concentrated in three markets

Exports of Egyptian cotton reached about 65,000 tonnes in the season that ended last August, with shipments heavily concentrated in Asia:

• India took roughly 60% of the total;
• China accounted for 22%;
• Pakistan ranked third with approximately 10%.

A Ministry of Agriculture source said domestic spinning mills received about 16,000 tonnes of the supply during the past marketing season. Exports and domestic consumption together absorbed more than 81,000 tonnes of the roughly 107,000 tonnes that were available.

Prices, guarantee levels and the auction calendar

The average selling price at domestic auctions last season was about 9,700 Egyptian pounds per qintar, a unit weighing 157.5 kilograms, for the Giza 92 variety, and up to 9,450 pounds for Giza 94. Giza 95 fetched around 6,750 pounds per qintar, with Giza 98 also reaching up to 6,750 pounds.

In earlier seasons, government guarantee prices for purchases from farmers set auction floors of $196.5 per qintar, equivalent to 10,000 pounds, for Upper Egypt, and $235, equivalent to 12,000 pounds, for Lower Egypt. The Egyptian government did not announce guarantee prices for the previous season or the current one.

Emara said the expected drop in output will not be the only factor shaping prices in the new season: exchange-rate stability and a global shortage of the extra-long staple cotton in which Egypt specialises could also lend support. He forecast a rise of roughly 1,000 pounds per qintar against last season's levels, while ruling out a repeat of the sharp gains recorded over the two preceding seasons. The sector is still awaiting the annual decree forming the executive committee that supervises and regulates Egyptian cotton, which sets the opening dates for collection points and organises sales auctions to trading companies. Emara expects the decree during September, with auctions starting in October.