Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil announced on Saturday that the value of trade exchange between Egypt and Russia increased by 55% during the first quarter (Q1) of the current year.
Kabil explained that the value of trade exchange between Egypt and Russia during Q1 2018 amounted to $1.33bn, up from $862m during the same period last year, an increase of 55%.
This came during Kabil’s meeting with a Russian delegation led by the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuivashev, to review Russia’s hosting of Expo 2025 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, in the presence of Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Georgy Kalamanov.
Kabil pointed out that the most important Egyptian exports to Russia were agricultural crops, especially potatoes, onions, garlic, grapes, fresh and frozen strawberries, and medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as industrial goods such as household appliances, household furnishings, and pharmaceutical products.
He announced that the meetings of the Egyptian-Russian joint economic committee will be held in the second half of May in Moscow.
The meetings are expected to witness the signing of a number of agreements and protocols to promote joint cooperation between the two countries, especially in the industrial, agricultural, and customs fields.
The Egyptian minister said that the establishment of a Russian industrial zone in Egypt will be at the forefront of the topics to be discussed during the activities of the joint committee.
On Friday, Kabil announced in a press statement that Egypt’s non-oil exports rose by 15% during Q1 2018, explaining that Egyptian non-oil exports recorded $6.32bn during Q1 2018, up from $5.52bn during the same period of 2017.
He revealed that the value of Egypt’s total trade exchange rose by 9%, reaching $21.3bn in Q1 2018, up from $19.5bn in 2017, pointing out that Egypt’s trade deficit also showed a 2% improvement.
For his part, Ismail Jaber, chairperson of the General Organisation for Export and Import Control, stated on Friday that the main markets that received Egyptian exports during Q1 2018 included nine countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Italy, and the UK.
“The nine countries’ markets received Egyptian exports worth $3.2bn during the first three months in 2018 compared to $2.7bn during the same period last year—a hike of 8.5%,” he stressed.
