A senior source in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Commerce denied rumors stating that several Egyptian cotton manufacturers exported their products to Israel this season, reported Al-Sharq Al-Awsat .
Egyptian government official Mohammed Al-Shiwi denied that five tons of Egyptian cotton was exported to Israel this past March. He asserted that if Egyptian cotton entered Israeli markets, it must have arrived into via a third country or foreign agent.
Cotton is an important component of Egypt’s economic development strategy for the reason that it provides a significant source of employment to the rural sector, and it provides a source of raw material for its substantial textile sector. Cotton is second only to petroleum in terms of its importance for foreign exchange earnings for commodity exports for Egypt. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
