Egypt: Leading textile executive pushes for low-interest loans to save industry

Egypt: Leading textile executive pushes for low-interest loans to save industry

A textile industry executive says Egypt’s government should provide low-interest loans to domestic apparel and textile businesses.

Textile manufacturing is Egypt’s second-largest industry but it was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the country’s economic downturn. Textile production accounts for 34% of Egypt’s industrial output and 11% of its exports. The sector employs around 1.5 million people.

But since March 2022, the Egyptian pound halved in value against the dollar, leaving many textile businesses unable to afford the raw materials needed to make clothes.

Aziz Elsalmawy, managing partner of garment trader New Trend Egypt, told Al-Monitor that textile factories in the North African country were scaling back operations or even closing due to the devaluation of the pound.

Elsalmawy called the devaluation “a double-edged sword. On one side, it is good to export more and more since your currency is low, but on the other side, this makes the imports more expensive. And it reduces the purchasing power of the consumers [in Egypt].”

He said that the country’s high inflation and interest rates are forcing more textile businesses to scale back operations or even close their doors as operating costs increase.

Elsalmawy said that the government could adopt measures to help the sector.

“First of