Many Egyptian exporters are sharing LinkedIn posts about the creation of an alliance for the exchange of information concerning "rogue international buyers," while calling other companies to join their group. The widely shared call invites Egyptian exporters to collectively establish a list of "blacklisted clients." Some exporters behind the call assure that an alliance is indeed created to tackle the issue of fraudulent importers, but they point out that the creation of the alliance has been accompanied by misleading information.
© Youness Bensaid | FreshPlaza.comAccording to an Egyptian exporter, who claims to be among the founders of the "alliance", its creation and the subsequent blacklist come in response to a "worrying situation," at a time when "a minority of unscrupulous international importers are causing systemic fraud and financial losses to exporters and damaging Egypt's agricultural exports."
The exporter, who requests to remain anonymous, describes the circumstances that made this measure necessary: "For too long, Egyptian exports have been plagued by a series of harmful tactics employed by dishonest customers in various international markets. These tactics, which have resulted in devastating financial losses season after season, include payment evasion, fraudulent quality reports, and container abandonment, resulting in significant demurrage and disposal costs for exporters. Crucially, these bad actors have been able to continually cycle through various Egyptian suppliers, perpetuating their fraudulent schemes under a new guise each season. The new alliance is intended to decisively shatter this cycle."
Several other Egyptian companies, considered to be leading in their industry and reputable, have confirmed the establishment of this alliance but prefer not to be named. One source explains how the mechanism is operated: "Our alliance now has more than 120 leading companies as founding members, who have exchanged information on fraudulent importers. At the launch of this mechanism, we have already identified around 180 importers around the world who have been placed on a collective blacklist.
In concrete terms, this is a centralised, continuously updated database that allows the classification and evaluation of foreign importers based on their payment history, contract compliance, and overall ethical conduct. The register managers receive claims from the alliance members privately, backed by supporting documents. Problematic buyers are then classified on a yellow list of tricky or high-risk importers or a red list of blatant fraudulent companies. Any importer who has caused harm to an Egyptian exporter will be immediately flagged, preventing them from preying on another member. The list is then shared with our members after every update," the same source adds.
It is still unclear to what extent this blacklist is supported by Egyptian exporters. One exporter, who also preferred to remain anonymous, says, "Of course, every company is entitled to make its own trade choices. It's more of an advisory database than a binding blacklist."
A LinkedIn group with 180 members, mostly from Egypt, relating to the same subject, displays a map of Europe with the Netherlands highlighted as a cover photo. However, an exporter who claims to be one of the founders of the alliance and to have participated in its preparatory meetings states: "This group does not belong to us. The announcement of the alliance's creation was accompanied by a number of fake groups and other actors imitating our idea. In reality, our mechanism does not target any particular country or region of the world, but rather a phenomenon of evasion of contractual obligations that is present in various global markets."
© Youness Bensaid | FreshPlaza.com
Screenshot of a LinkedIn group that the alliance organizers reject
What is certain is that the alliance is in its preliminary stages of gestation, and it remains to be seen how it will be consolidated and implemented. One exporter says, "The formal legal structure is currently in development. However, the operational framework and spirit of collaboration are already in action, with regular meetings being held to consolidate the management and legal foundations of the alliance. We are collectively mobilised to protect every Egyptian exporter from the devastating losses caused by a few bad apples. In doing so, we are defending Egypt's national income and securing the vital hard currency that this sector brings in. This is not just a business decision, but an act of economic patriotism."
It is worth mentioning that several Egyptian exporters, while supporting the idea and the application of the blacklisting mechanism, prefer to maintain a distance and not be publicly associated with it in its early stages. They justify this distancing by citing legal concerns, pending a clear definition of the criteria and procedures for managing the blacklist, as well as safeguards put in place to prevent its abuse.
