Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development Kamel Al-Wazir met with Minister of Public Enterprises Mohamed El-Shimy and manufacturers from spinning, textiles, and ready-made garments sectors to discuss deepening local production and reducing Egypt's import costs.
Deputy Prime Minister Kamel Al-Wazir convened a meeting with Minister of Public Enterprises Mohamed El-Shimy and representatives from the spinning, textiles, ready-made garments, and home furnishings industries to explore strategies for enhancing local production and lowering Egypt's import expenses. Attendees included members from the Ready-Made Garments and Textiles Chamber and the Apparel Export Council, alongside senior officials from the Ministries of Industry and Public Enterprises.
Al-Wazir described the gathering as the inaugural session in a series of ongoing consultations to assess and advance the spinning, weaving, and ready-made garments sector, driven by robust global interest in setting up garment factories in Egypt. He emphasized deepening the entire textile value chain—from ginning and spinning to finishing, dyeing, and weaving—leveraging abundant local raw materials such as cotton and flax.
The Ministry of Industry stands ready to offer comprehensive support to committed investors establishing spinning and textile facilities, aiming to fulfill domestic demands, curb imports, and bridge supply gaps in garments and furnishings. Al-Wazir advocated for a broad spectrum of yarn production, including cotton, flax, polyester, and wool, and encouraged local firms to secure commitments from international brands sourcing from Egypt to direct some output to the home market.
Participants addressed major hurdles, such as elevated capital requirements for spinning plants versus returns, limitations on origins for imported cotton yarns, inadequate local yarn supply, shrinking cotton cultivation areas, and a lack of domestic expertise in yarn production. They also noted competitive disadvantages against unregulated imports lacking quality and pricing controls.
In response, Al-Wazir announced the creation of a committee, in collaboration with relevant authorities and the Federation of Egyptian Industries, to combat customs evasion and align imports with actual production capacities, with heightened oversight on free-zone operations and temporary import schemes for re-export.
He promoted private-sector involvement in joint ventures with state-owned enterprises to foster industrial synergy, utilizing public assets like land and machinery alongside private efficiency. Additionally, Al-Wazir called for expanded petrochemical investments to lessen polyester import dependency and directed the Industrial Development Authority to mandate inclusion of spinning and textile elements in licensing new garment factories.
Minister El-Shimy highlighted the need for a robust governance structure in cotton trading to secure yarn needs, urging factory expansions and investments to maximize value addition. He affirmed the ministry's openness to partnering its seven affiliated spinning and textile factories with private entities to satisfy local demand, enhance exports, and sustain the industry's growth.