The Food Export Council (FEC) will receive next month a trade delegation representing more than 15 countries to visit the local factories to see their productive capacities and their commitment to international standards.
Manar Nasr, the executive director of the FEC, said the council is working to increase exports and open new markets for Egyptian products as part of the state’s strategy to maximise the return on exports.
She pointed out that the economic decisions taken by the government in the last period will have a positive return on exports in the medium and long term, especially with regards to the liberalisation of the exchange rate, which gave Egyptian products a competitive advantage in global markets.
She added that the council works on several axes for the development of exports, most notably the participation in foreign exhibitions: Anuga, Sial, and Gulfood. Moreover, she pointed out, the Egyptian pavilion at the exhibition of this year includes more than 87 companies, including 68 ones under the FEC and 19 countries under the Agriculture Export Council.
She noted that Gulfood Dubai has witnessed a great number of Egyptian companies. The number of participants in the Egyptian pavilion has reached 130, next to 50 others on the waiting list.
Moreover, Nasr said the promotional missions carried out by the council with a number of companies are aimed at opening up new markets to companies and introducing the quality of Egyptian products.
She added that the council is also working to bring foreign buyers away from competition in the exhibitions to get to know more about Egyptian products. A delegation representing more than 15 countries from Europe, America, Canada, and Africa will visit Egyptian factories to learn about the quality standards they follow in food safety.
US and European companies are interested in the agricultural processing sector, while African companies are focusing on visiting confectionery and juice factories, she said.
She affirmed that the council is participating for the first time in the international trade fair “PLMA”, “Industrialisation of others”, which was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 29 and 30 May 2018. This helps local factories to work at full capacity and provide more jobs, she added.
The number of exporting companies of the council is estimated at about 350 companies, with plans to increase the number by 10% per year. Nasr said the number of companies is not the only target, as the export capacity of these companies are more important to boost exports in general.
The council also conducts training courses for companies wishing to enter the export sector, where they are introduced to the conditions that must be met in their factories and products to be exportable and capable of competition, as well as visits to factories in cooperation with the Export Development Authority and assisting them to obtain quality certificates required for export.
She called for the need to sign an agreement between the Ministry of Trade and Industry and EgyptAir to support tickets for foreign exhibitions and support the shipment of products of companies participating in exhibitions to ensure a strong presence of Egyptian companies in international exhibitions.
