Statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Newspaper Title: Cabinet Egypt

Newspaper Number:

Tuesday - 16 May 2023

Via video conference, the Minister of Commerce and Industry met with the heads of a number of Egyptian commercial offices abroad. Mr. Ahmed Samir stated that Egyptian exports to the markets of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom achieved a tangible increase during the year 2022.

Engineer Ahmed Samir, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, held a number of virtual meetings via video conference with the heads of commercial offices abroad in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, France, and Greece. During these meetings, they reviewed the development of trade exchange between Egypt and these countries during the year 2022. The Minister also reviewed the latest report on bilateral trade rates and joint investments between Egypt and the United Kingdom during the past year, issued by the Egyptian commercial office in London.

The Minister stated that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Germany reached about 5.5 billion euros in 2022. He also pointed out that Egyptian commodity exports to the German market exceeded the one billion euro mark for the first time last year. Furthermore, they continued to rise during January and February of this year, reaching 260 million euros, achieving an increase of 38% compared to the same period last year.

Samir explained that the trade exchange rates between Egypt and Saudi Arabia rose by 24% during 2022, reaching $5.67 billion. Egyptian exports to the Saudi market reached $2.678 billion, compared to $1.995 billion during 2021, achieving an increase of 34%. He also pointed out that Egyptian commodity imports from Saudi Arabia increased by 16%, reaching $2.993 billion in 2022, compared to about $2.577 billion during 2021.

The Minister also noted that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Spain reached 4.5 billion euros during 2022. The value of Egyptian exports amounted to around 2.93 billion euros, of which 1.25 billion euros were commodity exports.

Samir also pointed to the development of foreign trade indicators between Egypt and France, where Egyptian exports to the French market increased by 136% by the end of 2022, reaching 2.16 billion euros compared to about 917 million euros during 2021. Meanwhile, Egyptian commodity exports to the French market in 2022 increased by 54% to a value of 1.163 billion euros compared to about 754 million euros during 2021, which contributed to reducing the trade deficit between the two countries to 121.9 million euros by the end of 2022, compared to 940.8 million euros during 2021.

The Minister added that the trade exchange rates between Egypt and Greece increased by 19.7% during 2022, reaching 2.06 billion euros compared to 1.72 billion euros in 2021. He also noted that Egyptian exports to the Greek market achieved unprecedented growth of 30% in 2022, reaching 1.67 billion euros compared to about 1.28 billion euros in 2021. This contributed to increasing the trade surplus in favor of Egypt by 51%, reaching 1.28 billion euros in 2022, compared to 847 million euros in 2021.

In a related context, the Minister reviewed the latest report on the trade exchange between Egypt and the United Kingdom, issued by the Egyptian commercial office in London. The report indicated that Egyptian exports to the United Kingdom achieved unprecedented growth during 2022, with an increase of 83%, reaching 1.686 billion pounds sterling compared to about 921 million pounds sterling in 2021. The report also noted that Egypt achieved a trade surplus with the United Kingdom for the first time, amounting to 57 million pounds sterling in 2022, compared to a chronic trade deficit in previous years, ending with a deficit of 448 million pounds sterling in 2021. In addition, non-petroleum Egyptian exports to the United Kingdom witnessed a significant increase during 2022, by 55%, reaching 1.404 billion pounds sterling compared to about 907 million pounds sterling in 2021. The United Kingdom also ranks first as the largest foreign investor in Egypt, with a total contribution of direct British investments reaching 21.8 billion dollars by the end of June 2021.

Source : Cabinet Egypt 

translated by Rehab Taha

Cairo Chamber