Mr. Abu El Hadid (The Minister of Agriculture) said that the ministry of agriculture held a preliminary agreement with the Ministry of Trade and Industry during which they agreed to organize a periodic meeting with the dealers and the manufacturers of the Egyptian cotton, in order to access an integrated system of agriculture and cotton industry, where the Ministry of Agriculture plans to increase the cultivated area and raising it to 500 thousand acres in the next season, instead of 350 thousand during the last season…Mr. Abu El Hadid said in a press statement today that they also agreed on developing textile industry in Egypt, so as to allow for the use of the Egyptian cotton, which can add value through productivity and gain a significant economic value…He pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a new strategy for the development of agriculture and the cotton industry in Egypt, including the importance of developing the seeds industry and resisting the blended varieties that leads to damage the productivity as well as introducing the concept of mechanization to reduce costs which will give the chance to compete in international markets…He said that the Ministry of Agriculture owns quantities of seeds sufficient to plant about 650 thousand acres, but first we have to be sure of absorbing the industry in Egypt for these areas which will be cultivated, and the minister emphasized that there are expectations for increasing the cotton prices during the next season…Mr. Abu EL Hadid said” the Ministry of Finance is currently studying the mechanisms for the implementation of the agricultural development strategy until 2030, adding that a committee of the Economic Affairs Sector with a number of experts from the Agricultural Research Center was formed to provide the Ministry of Finance with all the information on implementation, which would be the plan to activate the Egyptian agricultural sector during the coming period…
Date:3/9/2011
Source:www.theebcc.com