Private-sector companies bought nearly 40k qintars of cotton since the launch of the state’s new auction-based cotton trading system, which began on 15 September and will end on 15 December, cabinet said in a statement. Companies from the private sector won all auctions held in Fayoum, Beni Suef, Beheira, and Sharqia since early September. The average selling price for the crops was EGP 1,805 per qintar in Beni Suef and Sharqia and EGP 2,050 in Fayoum.