Egypt eyes $7bln exports to Africa in 2022

ArabFinance: The Egyptian government plans to increase the value of exports to Africa to $7 billion in 2022 as part of a broader plan to boost trade with the continent, the cabinet said in a statement.

The three-phase strategy aims to boost our exports to Africa to $ 10 billion by the middle of the decade. The government is trying to hit $7 billion within the first phase, which will start in January 2022 and target 10 countries.

During fiscal year (FY) 2020/2021, Egypt exported only $606.6 million of goods to Africa (excluding Arab countries), totaling just $607 million and accounting for only 2.1% of our total exports, according to Central Bank of Egypt data.

Arab countries bought c. $6.7 billion worth of goods and services, or about a quarter of our total exports.

Exports hit a near-13-year high in the final quarter of the states FY 2020/2021, reaching more than $8.1 billion during the three-month period ending June 2021, data showed.

After falling by almost a quarter in the second half (H2) of FY 2019/2020 due mainly to the covid-induced turmoil in the energy markets, exports expanded by almost 50% by the end of FY 2020/2021.

Finished goods made up the biggest percentage of global exports last year, valued at $11.3 billion, with fertilizers, clothing and household electrical appliances accounting for a quarter of this. Petroleum exports came in second at $8.8 billion.

It is worth noting that increasing exports is one of the key targets of the governments new structural reform program.

The government hopes that the new round of reforms designed to ramp up in manufacturing, telecoms and IT, and agricultural exports, as well as a new export subsidy program, will eventually raise exports to $100 billion a year.