Textile and apparel exports from Egypt are likely to see a decline this year as several manufacturers, especially in the cotton textiles industry, have reduced production, reports Fibre2Fashion. In February, Egyptian member of parliament, Enas Abdel Halim confirmed that 30 percent of the country’s textiles factories have closed as a result of the recession and deteriorating economic conditions in the country exacerbated by the pandemic.

Egyptian textile and apparel exports declined 29 percent to $2.3 billion in 2020 and, according to Fibre2Fashion, exports are expected to drop 15 percent to $1.9 billion in 2021. Just-Style reports that the country’s plans to attract foreign investment in its garment and textile manufacturing companies have been delayed as a result of the pandemic, but the government is investing in the industry’s growth by acquiring new machinery to modernise ginning mills. Last year, Cairo-based The Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving and Clothes signed a contract to establish a new spinning factory in Egypt, anticipated to be one of the largest spinning factories in the world with more than 182,000 spinning wheels and an average production capacity of 30 tons per day.