A photo shows a booth at the Cairo International Fashion and Textile Expo in Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
By Mahmoud Fouly
CAIRO, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- At a spacious hall in an exhibition center in Cairo, businesses from eight countries display in adjacent partitions, booths and pavilions a variety of products that include yarns, textiles, fabrics and fashion-related accessories.
The businesses are the participants of the 71st edition of Cairo International Fashion and Textile Expo (Cairo Fashion and Tex), which runs from October 6 to 8 at the Cairo International Convention Center.
According to Mohamed Sherif, chairman of Pyramids International Group, the expo's organizing company, besides Egyptian businesses, about 250 companies from China, India, Türkiye, Pakistan, South Africa, Jordan and Bangladesh attended this year's event.
People visit the Cairo International Fashion and Textile Expo in Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
With the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, the expo aims to boosting fashion and textile industry development by fostering business cooperation among participants, according to its organizers.
"This edition of the expo is very important as it gathers a large number of foreign companies for the first time in Egypt since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. They exhibit high-quality fabrics and products in an effort to make partnerships with Egyptian counterparts," Sherif said.
At a large pavilion of El-Dabi Tex and El-Hoda Tex, an Egyptian textile company, fabrics of various colors were exhibited.
Mahmoud El-Dabi, CEO of the company who was busy talking to customers on some potential deals, said this year's Cairo Fashion and Tex has a special significance because it is the first such event to be organized after the COVID-19 pandemic and it brings together a number of countries with advanced fashion and textile industries.
"We exhibit our products, know about the products from other countries, and exchange visits with them," he told Xinhua.
Highlighting the competitiveness of Egyptian textile products, he said his company now supplies fabrics to Türkiye and several African countries." He said the Expo was important to him because his company currently tries to focus more on export instead of import.
"We focus on increasing our textile exports in the future, because the manufacturing and export of high-quality products are the foundations of renovation," Sherif added.
A photo shows textile products during the Cairo International Fashion and Textile Expo in Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
At a booth of the Indian pavilion, dyed yarns made of recycled cotton, including regenerated knitting, weaving and melange yarn were on display.
"The concept of recycling is getting popular day by day," said Puneet Goyal, the owner of the Indian company Shivaay Overseas, adding that the company produces more than 800 tons of recycled yarns every month to meet the growing demand for "sustainable textiles."
He stressed that the expo offered a good opportunity for his company to market its recycled yarns in Egypt.
Several Egyptian customers and potential partners were visiting Chinese companies at the expo, including Changshu Yijia Textile Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Nadesion Textile Co. Ltd. and KLF Textile Co. Ltd..
"China is surely distinguished in the handmade products, and there are many new designs originate from China," said Hamada Al Alian, an Egyptian fashion designer and producer of wedding and night-out dresses.
"The materials and the new designs on display at the Chinese pavilion are impressive. It presents new fashion elements," the fashion designer told Xinhua, adding the expo saves him the trouble of traveling to other countries to find new materials and styles. ■
