Egypt's exports to Mercosur countries rise by 115% in 4 years

CAIRO – 1 September 2021: Egyptian exports to the Mercosur countries have jumped by 115 percent since the agreement entered into force in 2017, according to the Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry for Economic Affairs, and the supervisor of the foreign trade sector and trade agreements, Ibrahim El-Sigini.

The “Mercosur” agreement is a free trade agreement between Egypt and the countries of the grouping, which is an economic bloc of the Common Market of Southern Latin American countries, and this grouping includes (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay).

According to this agreement, Egyptian products will enter these countries by reducing customs duties on some goods, leading to complete freedom from customs, and vice versa.

He added in a statement issued by the ministry, Wednesday, that the value of Egyptian exports to the Mercosur countries recorded $396 million in 2020, compared to $184 million in 2017.

He explained that Egyptian exports were concentrated in chemical materials such as (nitrogen fertilizers, phosphate fertilizers, vinyl chloride polymers), which are among the commodities that have enjoyed immediate liberation from all customs duties, since the entry into force of the agreement, in addition to prepared or preserved vegetables and fruits, as well as fresh, Garlic, oranges and grapes are among the largest commodities that Egypt has begun to export to the assembly countries, in addition to olives of all kinds and forms.

In 2010, Egypt signed a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), and it entered into force on September 1, 2017.

The agreement provides for gradual exemption over several years, leading to full exemption from customs duties imposed on 90 percent of goods exchanged between the two parties, according to several lists attached to the agreement.

Lists include, List A (immediate exemption), List B (Exemption through three years), List C (exemption through 7 years) and List D (Exemption through 9 years).

The economic and trade relations between Egypt and the Mercosur countries have witnessed a remarkable development in the past four years, especially since the conclusion of the free trade agreement between the two sides, and its entry into force on September 1, 2017.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is currently working to circulate the lists of goods covered by customs reductions to all export councils and business groupings, especially small and medium companies, to enhance benefiting from the great competitive advantage of Egyptian exports in accessing these important markets, and to start communicating with companies importing these products in countries Mercury pool.