July 13, 2018

Egypt-French agricultural trade on an upward trend

Egypt's agricultural exports to France has reached $40 million per year as reported during the meeting held by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Egypt, in preparation for participation in the French SIAL exhibition.

The Head of the Chamber, Mahmoud el-Kaissy, also revealed the launch of new programmes that will allow a wider range of Egyptian agricultural workers (farmers, manufacturers, processors, etc.) to participate in French exhibitions in related fields.

With France alone, spending an estimated $9 billion annually on imports of agricultural products, Egypt's agricultural industry is brimming with opportunities.

Kaissy projected that Egyptian agricultural exports to the European markets could double.

He said, "The Egyptian product presents great opportunities to multiply these figures, especially when Egyptian products enjoy many competitive advantages, including low price as compared to those of European origins."

In a supporting statement, former Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade, Tarek Kabil mentioned, "Egypt's exports to France increased 36.4% in 2017, totalling up to €572 million as compared to €420 million in 2016. Additionally, trade exchange between Egypt and France also rose 21.8% in 2017."

In another aspect, the General Manager of the Chamber, Hassan Behnam, notes that taking part in international exhibitions supports in opening doors for Egyptian export markets.

Events such as the French SIAL Exhibition serve as a platform to strengthen ties, conduct face-to-face business transactions and analyse and identify the nature of foreign markets and conditions.

"The French SIAL exhibition is one of the most important exhibition catered specially for the agricultural industry," Behnam added. 

According to Ludovic Prevest, Manager of Business France Office in Egypt, 109 Egyptian companies took part in the previous edition of the exhibition and participations are expected to increase in the upcoming event.