Egyptian cotton is widely acknowledged to be among the best in the world. So why don’t more Egyptian companies use it?

The quality of Egypt’s Long Staple (LS) and Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton cannot be overestimated. It is finding increasing popularity globally in the home textile market—in sheets, towels and other housewares —where the soft and luxuriant feel of high-quality cotton makes a tangible difference to consumers. Egyptian cotton and its main rival, the U.S. Pima brand, control over three quarters of the fine-count market (5 percent of the total cotton market).

Egyptian textile companies, however, can’t rely on local cotton supplies. Farmers often don’t plant enough because of varying prices, and the public-sector mills aren’t known for their high-quality job of spinning it. In some cases, Egyptian garment companies are buying yarn and fabric from India that was spun and woven from imported Egyptian cotton.

Farmers don’t like planting cotton because it’s labor-intensive and has a slender profit margin, especially compared to rice. The small size of many of Egypt’s farms also means that economies of scale in planting don’t exist and farming techniques are not always the most efficient.

As a result, in 2004, cotton yarn exports dropped by 20 percent, to 32,827 tons, because there was not enough cotton available for Egyptian spinning mills. The same has happened in previous years, with the mills often working below capacity.

One solution would be to import more cotton, especially cheaper Short Staple cotton­since many of the mills aren’t equipped to spin Long Staple adequately in the first place. However, import restrictions, including fumigation regulations and high customs duties, have long discouraged the import of cotton. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif’s “business-friendly” government has made some progress in opening up Egypt to foreign cotton, but there is still much to be done.

The fate of industry has to be separated from agriculture. While it would be ideal if all garments produced here came from Egyptian cotton, that’s not going to happen in the short term.

Farming practices have to be changed and spinning mills have to be fixed, but in the meanwhile, Egyptians need to think about fulfilling their cotton needs from outside.