Around 30% of Egypt’s textile factories are understood to have closed as a result of the recession and deteriorating conditions in the country.

Egyptian MP, Enas Abdel Halim, confirmed the closures, according to the Middle East Monitor, adding that the remaining factories had reduced production by 50% to 70%.

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She explained that Egypt had about 1,260 spinning, weaving and dyeing factories registered in Mahalla, but that only 320 factories were now operating, employing 120,000 workers.

The MP warned the government against neglecting the issue, while calling for the Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevin Jama, to be questioned in parliament about the recent deterioration in the textile sector, the publication noted.

Egypt’s unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with 7.5% a year earlier, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the statistics agency CAPMAS revealed in August.

Egypt’s ready-made garment exports declined by nearly 20% in the first nine months of 2020, according to figures published by the Middle East News Agency (MENA).

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