In the past two years, Egypt has taken measures to restore seed purity and cotton quality. Egyptian cotton’s reputation and quality had deteriorated significantly due to the seed companies’ lack of effective quality assurance systems that resulted in inferior, mixed-variety output.

Egyptian cotton’s length, strength, firmness, color, trash count and maturity have all improved in 2016-2017 compared to 2015-2016. This development has increased demand and the prices for Egyptian cotton in local and international markets. Egypt’s cotton exports jumped 63.9 per cent during the first quarter of the planting season of 2016-17.

Internationally, retailers have begun to more closely monitor their products labeled as 100 per cent Egyptian cotton, many requiring manufacturers to provide attestation for products labeled as such. About 90 per cent of global supplies of Egyptian cotton last year were fake.

In an effort to crack down on fraudulent practices and ensure quality, the Cotton Egypt Association started licensing the use of the Egyptian cotton logo to suppliers and manufacturers all over the world. Carrying the logo means that the association certifies the authenticity of the Egyptian cotton. If Egypt’s cotton industry returns to its previous glory, the economy would flourish, the spinning and textile industries would boom, and stalled factories would reopen.