The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce announced the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was signed in 2010 between Egypt and the Mercosur countries.
The agreement aims to enhance the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the countries of the grouping, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, covering 63% of their collective exports and enabling them to obtain exemption from import taxes.
The volume of trade exchange between Brazil and Egypt last year exceeded $1.8bn, where the proportion of products covered by the convention reached 78%, amid expectations of an increase in the trade exchange between Egypt and the Mercosur to 99% within the coming 10 years, as stipulated in the agreement.
According to Michel Halabi, the secretary-general of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, with the agreement coming into force, the trade between the two sides is expected to witness a strong boost and strengthen the partnership between Brazil and Egypt.
He added that Egypt is an important trading partner for Brazil in Africa. Egypt imports 23% of the Brazilian products in the continent. He noted that Mercosur exports to Egypt are nearly 10,000 products, where the agreement will cover 63% of these exports.
The list of products exported from Brazil to Egypt, which directly benefit from this agreement, includes beef products, cereals, raw materials, and inorganic chemical products, while the Egyptian exports covered by the agreement include organic and inorganic fertilisers, vegetables, cotton, and textiles.
The value of Brazilian exports to Egypt was more than $1.35bn between the first quarter to the third quarter of 2017, up by 13% from the same period in 2016.
According to data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the value of goods exported by Brazil has reached $119.3m in the same period of 2017, up by 138.5% from the period in 2016.
