Senorita for Food Industries plans to boost its exports to EGP 200m this year through expanding to the African market.
Export director at the company Tarek Younis said that total exports in 2016 amounted to EGP 104m, with plans to boost the size by 92% through opening new markets in Africa, next to expanding to some Arab countries, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Algeria.
He noted that the Egyptian market is attractive for investments, especially the food industries sector, attributing that to the high population and growing demand for food commodities.
Younis pointed out that the foreign exhibitions are an opportunity to promote Egyptian products, which is why the company is interested in participating in them. He urged the Food Export Council to expand in these exhibitions to help companies acquire new clients.
He noted that there are several challenges for exporting products, adding that some traders buy large quantities of goods and export them directly, which could harm the reputation of Egyptian products, as goods can be exposed to damage.
He pointed out that products allocated to the local market are smaller in size, while products channelled to exports are bigger. He explained that exporters then can export Egyptian products illegally at prices lower than the company’s selling price, which can create problems with importers in other markets.
Younis stressed the necessity of preventing the export of any product except after the official approval of the producer.
He noted that Senorita applies full quality control measures across all production stages, from raw material all the way to distribution.
As for the competition with imported products, Younis said that a good market must be open to creating competition that drives companies to raise the quality of products and lower prices, which is beneficial for consumers.
With regard to challenges, he pointed out that the high cost of shipping hinders exporting, especially in the countries that do not have access to ports, which could then drive up costs by 50%.
He called for the establishment of a government agency that brings together all relevant government agencies along with businesspeople to stimulate Egyptian exports.
