Egypt: Expanding export capacities

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry is overhauling its export-support programme with the aim of increasing non-petroleum exports to $100 billion over the next few years.

It will amend the programme, which offers various incentives to exporters, to include new geographical regions and export sectors with high added-value and a high proportion of local components, to increase incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to expand the Egyptian presence in African and Arab markets, according to an investor close to the new programme.

The investor, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that incentives on exports targeting African markets would increase by 50 to 75 per cent.

Khaled Abul-Makarem, chair of the Chemical and Fertilisers Exports Council (CFEC), said the main goal of supporting exports was to alleviate the burden on manufacturers and exporters and provide them with price flexibility so they had a competitive edge in overseas markets.

“The new stimulus plan serves that goal,” Abul-Makarem said. “It will be reflected in the growth of manufacturers’ export capabilities, increased overseas sales, and the expansion of facilities once new markets open up.”

Over the past five years, Egypt’s non-petroleum exports increased from $20.42 billion in 2016 to $25.63 billion in 2019, dropping by one per cent last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic that negatively impacted global trade.