Egy Pack for packaging achieved sales of EGP 2bn last year.
Raafat Shafik, head of sales, said that the company aims to maintain the same sales of last year, despite problems it is currently facing.
He explained that 2017 was one of the hardest years for the sector, following the decision to float the pound at the end of 2016, which hiked the costs of production inputs.
He added that the floatation of the pound and the volatility of the economy following it made it harder for Egyptian companies and factories to maintain their rates of production and commit to their contracts.
He noted that the company has four factories to produce cartons with a capacity of 18,000 tonnes per month, which cover 35% of the industrial sector’s needs and 25% of agriculture factories’ needs, while the remaining is directed to other sectors.
Shafik said that large quantities of cartons were imported from Europe, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Turkey entered the market on a temporary permit basis. Moreover, they were exempted from the 14% value added tax.
He noted that the agriculture sector is among the important sectors for packaging companies, as 100% of the packaging stations direct their production to be exported.
Shafik called on the Ministry of Finance to shift the burden of providing evidence that exports took place within the grace period to exporters who provide the necessary paperwork.
He said that the company’s production fell from 18,000 tonnes per month last year to 12,000 tonnes, down 33%.
He noted that the packaging sector plays an important role in serving other industries, being one of the main inputs for the chemical and food industries, among others.
