Egypt’s exports to African markets planned to hit $15B
Egypt plans to increase its exports to Africa to reach up to $15 billion in the upcoming years by training Egyptian exporters on how to deal with the African markets, identifying the markets’ needs and increasing the exporters’ access to African markets.
Despite their great potential, Egyptian exporters are faced with a lot of challenges when expanding to African markets, like the absence of banks providing credit facilities and long shipment period for goods, which can reach up to four months.
As a result, Egypt has established six logistics centers – out of 12- in six African countries (Kenya, Morocco, Mauritius, Nigeria, Zambia, and Algeria) to facilitate access to African markets.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Ahmed Samir, revealed that the government will take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreement, to increase Egyptian exports to different African markets.
Members of COMESA include: Burundi, Comoros, Congo, Dem Rep., Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.