CAIRO – 16 April 2024: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly emphasized the importance of generating hard currency through industry and exports, particularly in light of the recent dollar shortage crisis that the Egyptian economy faced due to external shocks. He stated that Egypt's current annual exports amount to $53 billion and expressed his desire to increase this figure by 17-18 percent by 2030, to reach almost $145 billion.
Egypt's Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, held a meeting to discuss strategies for increasing export rates and promoting local industries. The meeting aimed to gather visions, proposals, and requirements from various sectors to achieve the government's goal of a 15-20 percent annual growth in exports.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the stability in the availability of dollar resources and assured the government's commitment to ensuring the sustainability of hard currency resources through multiple strategies. He invited the export councils to share their visions, proposals, and demands, stressing the government's readiness to support industry localization and expansion. He also mentioned the existence of a list of products and industries that require localization, with incentives available for those who undertake the manufacturing of these products.
The official spokesman for the Presidency of the Egyptian Cabinet, Mohamed Al-Homsani, revealed that the government's specific target is to achieve an annual increase of 15-20 percent in exports. In this regard, the Prime Minister instructed all participants to work on a practical implementation plan within a specific timeline. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for two weeks later to discuss and finalize the plan.
During the meeting, the Minister of Trade and Industry presented a report on merchandise exports in the first quarter of 2024. The report highlighted a 5.3 percent increase, with exports valued at $9.6 billion compared to $9.1 billion in the same period last year. Major export destinations included Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, and the United States.
The report also outlined the main sectors contributing to Egyptian merchandise exports, such as building materials, food industries, chemical products, crops, engineering and electronic goods, ready-made clothing, and more. It further identified specific items that experienced growth, including citrus fruits, nitrogen fertilizers, insulated wires and cables, oil oils, and gold.
The heads and officials of the export councils emphasized the need to support industries with a competitive advantage and increase their production capacity. They called for an indicative price system for crops, improvements in land shipping rates to neighboring countries, and the promotion of high-quality Egyptian food products. Additionally, they proposed the establishment of a tax-exempt "exporter's license" to stimulate the demand for the profession and suggested expediting the refunding of export burdens to attract foreign investments and encourage local manufacturing.
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