(AFP Photo)
Trade volume between Egypt and Canada reached $1.1bn in 2014, Fayez Ezzeldin, Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and the Middle East, told Daily News Egypt.
Ezzeldin further specified that 80% of Egypt’s exports to Canada were gold, amounting to $780m.
In 2013, two-way trade between both countries stood at $1bn, whereas in 2011 it stood at a slightly higher figure of $1.2bn.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s imports from Canada in 2014 were worth approximately $380m. Amongst the products that Egypt imports from Canada are agricultural goods, iron and steel, cereal and snacks.
Numbers show that the balance of trade between both countries in 2014 was in favour of Egypt.
Other than gold, Canada’s imports from Egypt include fertilises, textiles, apparel, and carpets, amongst others.
On another note, Ezzeldin said: “A delegation from the Canadian Chamber will be visiting Canada in June, with the main purpose of the visit being presenting investment opportunities in Egypt, whereby lawyers will accompany the delegation to explain the recent changes in the investment and tax laws to view how investors will benefit from them.”
“I’m calling upon the Egyptian government to expedite their steps and to actually implement the legislative regulations of the investment, mineral resources and tax laws in order to grasp the real attention of investors, as having the law just like that is not enough to satisfy them,” Ezzeldin said.
Concerning the Canadian embassy’s plan for enhancing trade exchange between Egypt and Canada, Canadian Ambassador to Egypt Troy Lulashnyk told Daily News Egypt that the Canadian side is focused on the priority sectors that Egypt could benefit from to share Canada’s expertise on. He further noted that they have a team at the embassy that is exclusively dedicated to enhancing trade relationships.
“We’re leveraging delegations, tradeshows, bringing Canadians to Egypt and vice versa, as well as getting business to business contacts to increase the number of transactions between the two groups, with a view to more cooperation, investment and trade,” he further noted.
Canada has approximately 30 companies operating in Egypt, whereby Canada is interested in investing and providing its technical expertise to Egypt in the fields of oil and gas, education, agriculture, and the health sector, amongst others, Lulashnyk pointed out.
