Egypt to Produce Naturally Colored Cotton

Colored cotton would now be in cultivation soon in Egypt, according to the Chairman of the Cotton Research Institute Hisham Mosaad.

Egypt is no stranger to growing several species of naturally colorful cotton and in the coming months. It is expected that this variety would be grown commercially in the country.

This has been possible after three years of research by the Cotton Research Institute, Modern Nile Cotton, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

These institutions are conducting sustained research and have developed a few varieties of naturally colored cotton.

Mosaad revealed that the colors of colored cotton in Egypt are green and gold emphasizing that cotton worldwide used to be colored but a mutation occurred turning it into white.

Furthermore, he noted that the final stage of the trials will be ending by this year and a few seeds would be proposed for commercial release.

"These institutions who are collaborating in this national scheme would be recommending the colored cotton cultivation. They would be informing specific farmers on the niche areas, which would have a provision for separate ginning and processing," Mosaad told Sky News Arabia.

In the same vein, the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture would also be expected to manage the process after the seed has been commercially released.

Meanwhile, each institution would be tying up with various farmers or processing units for cultivation, weaving, and manufacturing processes, according to the agriculture official.

This came within the framework of the UNIDO's The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which aims to make global cotton production better for the farmers and users.