Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Ahmed Samir, stated that the export sector had earned special attention from government officials owing to its vital role in the state’s economic growth system.
According to the minister, export volume grows year after year, and overall Egypt’s non-oil exports in 2014 were roughly $22.2 billion, which will climb to $35.7 billion by the end of 2022, a 60.8% increase.
As stated by Samir, these positive results show Egypt’s export industries’ capacity to cope with present global economic issues.
He emphasized that the government’s efficiency in executing export incentive programs was instrumental to maintaining the competitiveness of Egyptian products in various international markets, with EGP 56.5 billion distributed to over 2,700 enterprises from mid-2014 to the end of June 2023.
Egypt has signed and ratified some trade agreements to boost external trade, namely signing an agreement to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and completion of the ratification procedures of the agreement. Besides, Egypt’s accession to the MERCOSUR agreement, the release of the first list of goods since the agreement entered into force in September 2017, and the release of the second list in September 2020.
Thus, the goods that are completely exempt from customs duties within the framework of the agreement amount to approximately 3,200 commodities, including agricultural and manufactured commodities and building materials, in addition to textiles and ready-made clothes, along with applying a customs reduction for 6,900 commodities exchanged between Egypt and MERCOSUR countries.
During the period from 2014 to 2023, the government has disbursed all amounts received from the Ministry of Finance and other parties to the Export Development Fund (EDF) with regard to the disbursement of subsidy due to exporters. The EDF has disbursed an amount of EGP 56.5bn in cash during the period 2013/2014 until the end of June 2023 to more than 2,700 companies.
In addition, the government has granted 11,359 export possibilities worth around $7,47 million to provide a variety of commodities and goods, the most significant of which are fresh and frozen vegetables and fruits. It also handled 76,543 promotion and commercial queries and offered export-related data, including 2,171 foreign international tenders. Similarly, it provided collaborative investment possibilities and projects worth $28.12 billion in infrastructure, spinning and weaving, innovative and renewable energy, green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.
Egypt backed the national strategy for green hydrogen and energy, which drew international investment in the industry. As a result, the Indian company Renew Power signed a $7.8 billion agreement to establish a project to produce green hydrogen in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and the German H2 Industries group agreed to conduct a feasibility study for establishing a production Hydrogen plant, with an investment of approximately $3 billion.
