Food export council to organize the largest forum in Jordan for consolidating Egyptian-Arab trade exchange in Jordan
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Wednesday - 1 June 2022
Cairo: Trade mission forum was organized –today- in Amman, the capital of Jordan, which was launched yesterday, with the participation of 47 Egyptian food companies of manufacturers and exporters to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during 29-31 May 2022. It was organized by Food Export Council, in cooperation with the Commercial Service office in Amman, The General Association for Foodstuffs Merchants of Jordan (GAFJO) and Amman Chamber of Commerce, among approximately 300 importers in (Jordan- Palestine- Syria- Iraq) who are specialized in food industries. The objective is to increase the volume of trade and the Egyptian exports.
Chairman of Food Export Council Eng. Hani Berzi highlights that the trade mission to Jordan coincides with the Egyptian Prime Minister's visit to UAE within the framework of signing an initiative of Egypt-Jordan-UAE integrated industrial partnership to achieve sustainable economic development and benefit from relative and competitive advantages. Shortages are then avoided and self-sufficiency achieved. Signing the initiative serves as an executive roadmap with a clear time frame; it is also considered the core of upcoming partnerships in the future with various Arab countries.
Berzi commended the importance of the Chairman of Food Export Council Dr. Hassan Mansour's visit to the Trade Mission in Jordan in the framework of valuable and constant cooperation between exports sector, Food Export Council and Egyptian Food Safety Authority, which highly supports Egyptian exports. Berzi further commended the meeting as well with his counterpart of the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) in Jordan, in presence of JFDA General Manager Dr. Nizar Mhaidat, concluding that the importance of food availability reflects the security of supporting the export. He eventually thanked the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea, on behalf of Food Export Council, for her full support which is reflected eventually in increasing rates of Egyptian export of food industries, along with all partners who contributed to the success of the Trade Mission, namely Amman Chamber of Commerce, The General Association for Foodstuffs Merchants of Jordan (GAFJO), and Commercial Service office in Amman. The Trade Mission is organized under the directives of Egyptian Government to increase the volume of exports and trade between Egypt and the world.
Such experience is the first of its kind where the Food Export Council dispatches a regional mission abroad to cover these markets. The importance of such markets is reflected in the fact that Egypt imports all the food industry products without restrictions or any further special requirements. In addition, the Egyptian products enjoy various privileges in such markets, among which are proximity, transport costs, and relatively good shipment compared to other exporting countries, along with the trade agreements whether Pan Arab Free Trade Agreement or Agadir Free Trade Agreement which grant custom privileges to the Egyptian goods.
In his opening speech, the Chairman of Amman Chamber of Commerce Mr. Khalil El-Haj Tawfiq, who is also the head of GAFJO, stated that the visit of the Egyptian Mission is viewed as maintaining and deepening the joint cooperation with the Food Export Council in Egypt which eventually targets the Arab integration; it also targets the need to have the solid political relations between Egypt and Jordan affecting the economic relations between them, especially that the Egyptian products enjoy fine reputation and nationwide trust in Jordan. He adds that dispatching such a large trade mission will have a significantly positive effect on the volume of trade, which will be a step towards cooperation in different areas.
He added that the presence of buyers and businessmen from Iraq, Palestine and Jordan in the event indicates that Jordan has become a hub for hosting Arabs and a portal to Egyptian commodities in these countries. He further expected that trade agreements will be made between all parties and that such forum will lead to interrelation among Arab countries that would pay off on the long run. We aspire to have such partnerships between Egyptian manufactures and Jordanian businessmen, promote exchange of experience in a number of sectors such as frozen vegetables, juices and dairy; we further aspire to benefit from free trade agreements between Jordan and USA, Canada, and Singapore, with the objective of providing goods to one Billion consumers without customs.
El-Haj emphasized that Jordan exports 4 Million tons of food products, as it is the third largest country to import food products from Egypt, underlying that the dispatch of that Mission is significantly special amid the FAO and World Bank's warnings of food shortage. It is required to leverage the proximity of Egypt and Jordan, the lower shipping costs of products and to cooperate in the matter of food security, during his Highness King of Jordan's concern with food security. He added that the volume of trade between Egypt and Jordan is currently 500 Million USD, and that we target to double the value within a year's period to reach 1 Billion USD, as long as obstacles are removed and measures are facilitated on both Egypt and Jordan's side. The greater the Arab cooperation, the greater the Arab integration at all levels.
The Chairman of Egyptian Food Safety Authority Dr. Hassan Mansour stated that the world currently encounters two crises, namely Covid-19 widespread and Russia-Ukraine war. These two crises have impacted the countries which generally suffer from lack of self-sufficiency of food resources, shipment, transportation and trade. Accordingly, it enforces such countries to find solutions to face such crises, adding that, on the Egyptian-Jordanian relations level, these relations should be invested to secure food to the Arab consumer and food safety in particular. He further expressed that Jordan was among the countries in the region to first consider applying food safety standards. Such case has become a priority for the Egyptian administration, as it has established the Egyptian Food Safety Authority. We have decided to separate food safety from drug safety due to the different nature of issues encountered in both sectors.
He further ensured that Authority has made a huge progress over the past five years to change the culture of the Egyptian consumer and develop the legislations of food safety, underlining that our first concern is the safety of the citizen and consumer, both local and foreign. Food must accordingly conform to international standards, taking into consideration that each importer has one's own requirements. We commit to achieving that and work towards strengthening Egypt-Jordan relations by signing cooperation protocols to remove trade obstacles and challenges, in light of all of our endeavors to have a complementary relationship between countries.
On the other side, the JFDA General Manager Dr. Nizar Mihdat ensured that food security would only be achieved through the application of international standards. That enforces us to work on integrating the partnership among countries rather than competitiveness when it comes to food security under such difficult circumstances the world currently faces. He added that each country has its own issues, which requires the establishment of a real program with the purpose of achieving its main objective, which is providing secured food to its citizens.
Chef de Mission and Food Export Council Board Member Mr. Alaa El-Wakeel, who is also the Head of Africa Working Group and foreign missions, assured that the Trade Mission to Jordan is the biggest in the history of food industry missions to be dispatched abroad from Egypt. The choice of Jordan to be the hosting country is due to the significance of its market to all Egyptian exporters. He further indicated that, during its visit, Food Export Council provides a service to the Jordanian exporter who intends exporting high-quality products to the Egyptian market by registering in a list made by the Council. That list will be communicated to the importers of such products in Egypt to increase trade between Egypt and Jordan.
He further stated that the presence of buyers and businessmen from Iraq, Syria and Palestine in that hub reflects the strategic position of Jordan, which services the region in regard to Egyptian products; the presence of 47 Egyptian companies and around 90 Egyptian businessmen indicates Egypt's interest in such markets. It was emphasized that the importance of these markets to the Egyptian companies is due to that fact that it represents 15% of the total Egyptian food exports estimated as 4.1 billion USD last year.
The Head of Africa Working Group and Foreign Missions pointed out that FEC intends to increase trade with African and Arab markets by dispatching special trade missions and that there are no representatives or agents to many of the Egyptian products in such countries, especially medium-sized enterprises which seek having new markets. He emphasized that Egyptian companies that wish to increase its exports should give attention to its quality, and that the product should be secured. In addition, he emphasized the importance of building trust which should double these companies' gains on the long run, and of having enough transparency between the Egyptian exporter and the importer, as trading partners. He also emphasized that foreign importers should significantly contribute to open markets oversees to the Egyptian exporters.
The FEC CEO May Khairy highlighted the importance of trade missions dispatched by the Council with the purpose of developing Egyptian exports of food industries, by increasing it promotional activities and boosting the Egyptian presence in a number of the world's countries based on a study conducted by FEC. The Council has dispatched a number of successful trade missions during the recent period to a number of African and Arab countries, such as Kenya. Among the examples are the Egypt's participation in Gulfood Dubai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' delegation to Djibouti, and the Egyptian companies' recent participation in APAS Brazil. She added that the Council considers dispatching a number of trade missions to African and Arab countries until the end of the current year, while focusing on the activities of International Exhibits and providing marketing information, seminars, webinars, courses which focus on raising the awareness of producing and exporting cadres of the Council-member companies. The objective is to constantly leverage the performance rates and comply with international standards and requirements, in cooperation with the authorities of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and success partners.
The food industry exports reached about 1045 million USD in the first quarter of 2022, growing by 5% to 49 million USD against the exports of the same period in 2021 which reached about 996 million USD. Exports to Arab countries occupy the top of the list of the most important international importers of Egyptian foods during the first quarter of 2022 with an amount of 588 million USD, representing 56% of the total food exports, achieving a growth rate of 7% and a growth value of $38 million.
Jordan is among the list of the most important importers of Egyptian food industries worldwide during the first quarter of 2022 with exports worth 47 million USD to grow by 6% against the exports of 2021 during the same period. Jordan ranked fifth among the most important import markets for Egyptian processed foods in 2021, with an amount of 188 million USD to reach 8.1% of the sector’s total exports.
