Export councils to prepare sectoral plans to boost exports

CAIRO – 25 November 2017: Export councils will prepare sectoral plans that will include ways to increase Egypt’s exports globally, Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said Saturday.

Kabil said that the ministry aims to double exports during the coming period, highlighting the role of export councils in tackling the challenges facing Egyptian exports abroad.

The minister’s comments came during the first coordination meeting of export councils, attended by the councils’ 14 heads, in addition to Export Development Authority (EDA) chief Sherine el-Shorbagy and head of policy unit and supervisor of development programs at the Trade Ministry Shereen el-Sabbagh.

Kabil said Egyptian exports can benefit from the various agreements Egypt signed with different countries, which will help them reach around two billion consumers, such as the Egypt-Mercosur trade agreement and the Tripartite Free Trade Area TFTA.

He said that his ministry targets to “brand” Egyptian products, especially those of high quality, saying that these brands will help increase exports on the long run.

The minister pointed out that the Egyptian economy is on the right track, which reflected positively on the doubling of foreign reserves, reducing unemployment, curbing budget deficit and increasing GDP growth rates to 5.2 percent during the last quarter of the current year.

Maged George, Chairman of the Export Council of Pharmaceutical Industries, pointed out the importance of increasing Egyptian exports to West African markets, especially that the Egyptian product has many competitive advantages that enable it to enter the African market.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Export Council for Food Industries, Hani Barzi referred to the importance of attracting leading international investment companies to work in Egypt.