On 11 April, H.E. Christian Schmidt, German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, and H.E. Abd El Moneim El Banna, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture & Land Reclamation, inaugurated the 1st Egyptian-German Agribusiness Forum. The event was held in the framework of the visit of Schmidt and a German business delegation to Egypt and was organised by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce (GACIC) in cooperation with the German-African Business Association.
Mr Andreas Hergenroether, head of the Chamber, said that the institution has worked for many years in the field of promoting Egyptian agricultural products and processed foods. The Chamber also coordinates the Egyptian pavilions in exhibitions and promotes Egyptian food products in the international markets. He pointed out that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Germany in 2016 reached 255 million Euro, and could still grow and prosper.
He added that the export of fruits and vegetables from Egypt to Germany in 2016 was worth 124 million dollars, pointing to an increase of 13% compared to 2015, and the export of Egyptian oils and fats to Germany in 2016 was worth 33.6 million Euro. Next in importance were Egyptian spices, tea, coffee and cocoa, with exports to Germany reaching a value of 7.437 million Euro; an increase of 35% compared to the previous year.
For its part, Germany exported fruits and vegetables worth 3.3 million Euro in 2016, representing almost 75% of the value of the previous year. In 2016, Egypt also imported oil and fats worth 24.6 million Euro from Germany, as well as dairy products worth 32.3 million Euro and grain products with a value amounting to 12.7 million Euro.
Germany is the largest producer of European food and the third largest food exporter in the world, with a total volume of about 70 billion Euro. The food industry is Germany's fourth largest sector, with total turnover reaching 172 billion Euro.
The forum promotes strong relations between the two countries. Some issues discussed include the cultivation and improvement of agricultural crop varieties, seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, agricultural processing machinery and water and irrigation management.
Source: elfagr.org
