The country’s agricultural production today
4.1 Cotton – raw material and source of foreign currency
With the introduction of permanent irrigation in Egypt during the nine-
teenth century ideal conditions pertained for growing cotton. There were
relatively heavy soils, high temperatures, low air humidity, and sufficient soil
moisture through irrigation. The period of cultivation from March to October
is moreover the best time for plant growth because of the long duration of
sunshine. In the middle of the nineteenth century Mohammed Ali had seized
the opportunity offered by the obstruction of cotton exports from America
during the Civil War and tried to open up the British market for Egyptian