Egyptian exports to France increased by 17% in the first half (H1) of 2017, scoring a value of €321.3m, up from €274.9m in H1 2016 with agriculture exports reaching €2.7m .
According to the latest report of the Economic Department of the French embassy in Egypt, imports from France increased by 11% in the same period, reaching €915.9m, compared to €825.7m.
Trade exchange between Cairo and Paris increased from €1.1bn to €1.2bn, up by 12.4%. French exports to Egypt increased because of the rise in imports of appliances and electric devices by 41% at a value of €306.5m.
Imports of agricultural food products increased by 55% to €60.9m in H1 2017.
Although French imports of agricultural products during H1 2017 reached €45.3m, but they still declined by 64%, which reflected on the imports of France from grain with a decline of 70% worth €34.2m, especially wheat, which fell by 68%, while imports reached a value of €34.1m.
The embassy explained that this was caused by the poor quality of the 2015/2016 harvest that did not meet the Egyptian standards, along with the Egyptian authorities tightening the quality measures. Egypt instead sought imports from eastern Europe, including Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, which were more able to compete with France within the Egyptian market in this regard.
Total Agricultural export products of citrus and vegetables saw a total growth of 19% reaching €2.7m.
Lewis stressed the importance of complementary industries, which greatly affect the country's trade balance and drains a great deal of effort and money into importation, resulting in a rise in the price of local products.
She said that the major development projects, led by the network of roads and bridges implemented by the state, are some of the most attractive factors for investment. She expected these projects to contribute to an investment growth in Egypt.
Source: menafn.com
