Egypt’s textile industry currently employs approximately one million workers, constituting 30 percent of the nation’s workforce, according to Egyptian Minister of Industry, Mustapha Al-Refaay.
In addition, Al-Refaay added, 5,000 textile-manufacturing factories presently operate in Egypt, constituting 25 percent of all industrial factories in the country, reported Al-Sharq al-Awsat daily.
In a recent public statement, Al-Refaay stressed the importance of the industry to the nation’s economy, and put forth several proposals for modernizing this sector.
Included in the minister’s suggestions was lowering interest rates on loans to seven percent for textile manufacturers and financing studies executed by factories.
Al-Refaay also proposed offering long-term foreign currency-denominated loans, and providing technical and financial assistance to those who seek it in the industry, in addition to modernizing factories with government support.
The minister added, furthermore, that 55 percent of textile exports- nearly 72,000 tons- consist of fabrics and threads, while the remaining 60,000 tons, are comprised primarily of clothing. –(Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
