Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour has issued a directive to form a committee developing a dairy product safety and quality system to allow international export of products, according to a ministry statement.
The goal, the statement said, is “an integrated quality and safety system for dairy products to jump-start and follow-up its development to increase Egyptian exports’ competitiveness in various markets, especially in Europe”.
The committee will be headed by the chairman of the Food Safety Unit at the ministry.
Abdel Nour said the ministry is aiming to develop and modernise Egypt’s dairy industry to improve quality and increase the value added for its products in accordance with international standards. He said that the ministry works to support factory capacities and local production agencies by establishing the programmes required to develop them. This process will serve to meet the needs and requirements for Egyptian dairy products to be exported to European markets.
Abdel Nour added that the EU market imposes a number of procedures and conditions on dairy products entering its markets. This includes tracking the goods beginning at the farm through to the final product, representing an obstacle for some local producers. He said that the committee will work to help these producers eliminate all obstacles and meet the needs of these markets.
Article 3 of the resolution stipulates the Committee will be responsible for proposing the policies and strategies to establish and implement a national integrated system for dairy product quality and safety. It will also promote that system to increase the value added of Egyptian products according to international standards.
The Committee will be responsible for proposing operational policies and organisational structures to guarantee the continuity of the system and follow-up on the implementation of associated activities. These measures will take place in the framework of a national quality strategy and plan to increase Egyptian exports and exchange experiences between relevant international bodies. This, the statement said, will lead to conformity with international standards, while also contributing to establishing a plan for coordination and integration among all private and government-sector bodies operating in the dairy sector.
This would jump-start the system, the statement added, facilitating Egyptian exports’ entry into foreign markets in addition to creating guidelines for monitoring and evaluating the systems yields, particularly in its exports. The process will also contribute to all relevant bodies’ participation in establishing the programmes required to support factories and local producers’ ability to conform to system requirements, it said.
The statement added the new system would improve the quality, safety, and competitive ability of Egyptian products. Suppliers will eventually familiarise themselves with the requirements and regulations of external, and the capacity of foreign markets will be studied in coordination with the relevant ministry sectors.
Egyptian export products will be promoted in foreign markets in coordination with the relevant state agencies, and business regulations will be proposed and approved with international references on the issue. Trade, marketing, national, and international information will be disseminated in order to serve the Egyptian export sector at home and abroad.
[c1] Abdel Nour added that the fourth article of the resolution granted the committee power to form technical sub-committees on a permanent or temporary basis. They will draw from the expertise of its members or bring in outsiders in order to aid the committee in performing its work.
The committee is permitted to enlist experts or specialists from the government or other agencies to jump-start the system. The fifth and sixth articles of the resolution stipulate that the committee will be brought together through an invitation issued by the chairman at least two months in advance whenever necessary.
The committee is permitted to invite representatives of relevant international organisations to attend its sessions, although they will not be permitted voting powers. The committee will also coordinate with all relevant local and international organisations, bodies, and ministries in the dairy sector to support and promote the committee, which may choose to enlist foreign expertise in this regard.
