Al-Nada for Import and Export aims to double its current export volume to EGP 12m over the EGP 600,000 recorded at the end of last season.
General Manager of Nada Mahmoud Abdel Mouti said the company will double its sales by increasing the volume of exports to Russia and Europe.
The company aims to visit several international exhibitions for agricultural products to promote their products and work to attract new clients. The Egyptian agricultural market faces several problems at the moment, he said, calling for the obstacles the sector is facing to be mitigated to move development plans forward, especially within small companies.
He said transport is one of the main issues within exporting agricultural products, where the cost of transporting crops has increased by 30% to $1,200 per tonne. At the same time, production costs for local crops have increased recently by 20%-25% after the government adopted a new plan to lift subsidies for all products provided to consumers over three to five years.
The increase in transport costs locally and abroad comes despite a global drop in oil prices. Abdel Muti said that prices in Egypt are unstable, a phenomenon that harms several sectors. He asked for a comprehensive plan to be set out to develop the agricultural sector and provide the means required to move it forward. He also believes that incentives should be provided to encourage investors to enter the market, indicating that Egypt is a first-rate agricultural country.
The policies followed by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) since the beginning of 2015 have significantly impacted the local market and precipitated a decrease in imports for supplies required to produce agricultural crops. This led to significant losses for all those working in the sector, and producers in particular.
The CBE set out new provisions to preserve foreign currency, the most important of which includes setting a cap for dollar deposits at $10,000 per day and $50,000 per month.
