Egypt is looking to double its famous long-staple cotton production and exports during FY2017-18, Agriculture Ministry spokesperson Hamed Abdel Dayem tells Reuters. Long-staple output this fiscal year — which is expected to rise to 1.4 mn qintar (160 kgs), up from 700k qintar last year — will all be exported and at a higher price of USD 168.07 per qintar (c. EGP 3,000), Abdel Dayem adds. The return of long-staple cotton to “world markets could provide a lucrative export opportunity at a time when Egypt has a huge trade deficit,” notes the newswire.