Egypt plans to double exports to $100bn annually

REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Egypt plans to double exports to $100 billion annually by rationalising imports and labor-intensive and strategic industries, Egypt Today newspaper reported.

Agricultural exports reached six million tons in 2022, up 200,000 tons from last year. Among the top crops were citrus (1.7 million tons), potato (621,900 tons) and onion (510,552).

Exports of frozen strawberries have surged by 30 percent in the first 10 months of 2022, generating $290 million, Food Export Council (FEC) vice chairman Ashraf El-Sayed said.

Additionally, exports of food industries rose by 0.5 percent, reaching $3.490 billion in the first 10 months of 2022 from $3.473 billion in the year-earlier period.

The country has targeted $60 billion in exports by 2025, from $43.6 billion in 2021, and projected $50 billion in 2022.

In the first eight months of the year, Egypt achieved $34.3 billion worth of exports compared to $26.8 billion in the year-earlier period.

Finished goods comprised 43.9 percent of export value ($15 billion), followed by petroleum products with 29.5 percent ($10.1 billion).

The export of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) leaped to $3.9 billion in 2021 from $177.2 million in 2017. The first eight months of 2022 saw revenue generation of $5.08 billion.

Egypt’s exports to the European Union almost doubled to $14.5 billion in 2021, up from $7.7 billion in 2017, the newspaper said.