مo Paulo – Brazil increased its imports of Egyptian cotton as well as threads and fabrics made with the fibre. The cotton purchases increased by 132% in the first semester of the year in relation to the same period last year, going from US$ 1.045 million to US$ 2.43 million, and the imports of cotton threads increased by 37.8%, from US$ 1.1 million to US$ 1.5 million. Imports of fabrics also had an increase of 119.7%, but the figures are a lot smaller: from US$ 58,000 to US$ 127,400 .The cotton harvested in Egypt has long or extra-long fibres, which allows the production of very fine threads and results in softer fabrics. “Many Brazilian textile companies want to produce high quality products and the best product for this is Egyptian cotton,” says the trade consul of Egypt in Sمo Paulo, Mohamed Bakri Agami. The company Selene, factory of fabrics, socks and clothes from the city of Cerquilho, in the state Sمo Paulo, is one of the Brazilian companies that started importing Egyptian cotton .From the beginning of the year, Selene imported six containers of Egyptian cotton thread, according to the Supplies coordinator at the company, Sérgio Miragaia. “We created a finer line of socks,” he explains. Selene’s aim is to continue importing Egyptian cotton as the socks made using Egyptian cotton as the raw material had good acceptance in the national market. Last year, the company didn’t buy the product and in 2004 they purchased three containers .Like Selene, at least another ten national companies started buying Egyptian cotton threads and fabrics this year, according to information from Lotas, foreign trade company that imports the product. The company’s director, Abel Ashmawi, believes that the exchange rate favourable to imports is helping the increase in purchases. “It is possible to import the product at a reasonable price,” says Ashmawi. The price of the threads is good because the dollar is good,” agrees Miragaia “According to the director at Lotas, the companies that started purchasing threads and fabrics in Egyptian cotton are weavers, manufacturers of bed and bath products, as well as producers of sewing threads. The demand amongst the Brazilian consumer for differentiated products, of better quality, is also mentioned by Ashmawi as a factor that influenced the increase in imports .The Egyptian trade consul in Sمo Paulo also recalled the Egyptian Cotton Exhibit, which was promoted in October last year at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and helped promote the product in Brazil. The exhibit had the support of Lotas and the Egyptian trade office in Sمo Paulo. Brazilian entrepreneurs could see the products in the chain, from the cotton, threads and fibres up to the finished products .Source: Brazil-Arab News Agency .”/span>
Date:7/24/2006
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