For this purpose he built the Delta Dam, which was completed in
1861. After their occupation of Egypt in 1882 the British continued the policy
and expanded the cotton cultivation area. To secure enough water for the
irrigation of the cotton fields in summer they built three dams on the Nile,
which were completed in 1902: one at Aswan, another at Asyut and the third
at Sifta (see Figure 6.1). Further dams followed at Isna, Nag’ Hammadi and
Jebel el-Aulia (Sudan). Towards the end of British hegemony over Egypt, in
1938, cotton constituted 91 per cent of the total value of exports.
The main areas of cotton cultivation are in the Nile delta, where perma-
nent irrigation was introduced first. In 1961 the area of cultivation reached
its maximum at 2,000,000 feddans. Since that time it has decreased steadily. In
2001 it was only 720,000 feddans. There are four main reasons for the decline
of cotton cultivation in Egypt, which continues today:
• International demand for cotton, especially for the long-stapled type grown
in Egypt, is in decline. The new cotton-spinning and weaving machines no
longer depend on this high-quality cotton.
• Cotton is available on the world market at low prices from the cheap-labour
countries in Asia with which Egypt cannot compete.
• The Egyptian government adopted a policy of self-sufficiency as regards
the country’s staple foods, and thus tried to reduce the area cultivated with
cotton in favour of food crops.
• The time during which Egypt depended totally on the Soviet Union eco-
nomically after the construction of the Sadd el-Ali, during which the fel-
laheen were forced to cultivate cotton so that the country could pay back
its debts, is over. Cotton production had been very unpopular then, because
it is labour intensive and, since the state held the monopoly as the only
buyer of cotton, prices paid to the producers were extremely low.
1861. After their occupation of Egypt in 1882 the British continued the policy
and expanded the cotton cultivation area. To secure enough water for the
irrigation of the cotton fields in summer they built three dams on the Nile,
which were completed in 1902: one at Aswan, another at Asyut and the third
at Sifta (see Figure 6.1). Further dams followed at Isna, Nag’ Hammadi and
Jebel el-Aulia (Sudan). Towards the end of British hegemony over Egypt, in
1938, cotton constituted 91 per cent of the total value of exports.
The main areas of cotton cultivation are in the Nile delta, where perma-
nent irrigation was introduced first. In 1961 the area of cultivation reached
its maximum at 2,000,000 feddans. Since that time it has decreased steadily. In
2001 it was only 720,000 feddans. There are four main reasons for the decline
of cotton cultivation in Egypt, which continues today:
• International demand for cotton, especially for the long-stapled type grown
in Egypt, is in decline. The new cotton-spinning and weaving machines no
longer depend on this high-quality cotton.
• Cotton is available on the world market at low prices from the cheap-labour
countries in Asia with which Egypt cannot compete.
• The Egyptian government adopted a policy of self-sufficiency as regards
the country’s staple foods, and thus tried to reduce the area cultivated with
cotton in favour of food crops.
• The time during which Egypt depended totally on the Soviet Union eco-
nomically after the construction of the Sadd el-Ali, during which the fel-
laheen were forced to cultivate cotton so that the country could pay back
its debts, is over. Cotton production had been very unpopular then, because
it is labour intensive and, since the state held the monopoly as the only
buyer of cotton, prices paid to the producers were extremely low.
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