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Egyptian silk producers hope to spin profits

Egypt hopes that removing tariffs on the import of silkworms will encourage young entrepreneurs to cultivate them to help meet local demand.
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Mohamed Khairy, a resident of Gharbia in the Nile Delta, discovered the benefits, and profits, of sericulture last summer. “I earned a reasonable sum after selling cocoons to the silk producers,” the young man proudly told Al-Monitor. “Three boxes of cocoons make one kilogram of raw silk, which sold for 600 Egyptian pounds [$33].” 

The Egyptian government hopes that more young entrepreneurs will be like Khairy, who is 17 years old, and take note of the Ministry of Finance’s October announcement on lifting customs duties on the import of silkworm eggs. This decision, coupled with Egypt’s growing demand for silk goods, could present new money-making opportunities in sericulture.

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