Egypt's cotton production may rise by 14 per cent in the marketing year beginning August 2022 through July 2023, says the US Agriculture Department said.

Production is expected to increase to 320,000 480-pound bales from 280,000 bales this year. The area harvested is forecast to grow to 97,000 hectare from 85,000 hectare.

Higher demand in 2021--which has remained high into 2022--and a surge in prices, have encouraged farmers to plant cotton, the report said.

Prices in Egypt have increased nearly 100 per cent this year, with the upper-long staple varieties at 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($269.32) a quintar. A quintar is 50 kilograms of lint cotton. Lower-long staple cotton reached EGP3,000 a quintar, it said.

Domestic consumption is expected to drop by 9 per cent, to 500,000 bales this year, and imports are forecast to remain unchanged at 550,000 bales in 2022-23.

The country plans to set up the world's largest spinning and weaving factory in Mahalla al-Kubra, at a cost of about EGP900 million.