Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea received Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko this week to discuss allowing shipments of Egyptian oranges to enter the Russian market.
Earlier, Russia’s Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) halted the import of Egyptian oranges.
The minister said that the Egyptian government, represented by the Egyptian Commercial Service in the Russian capital of Moscow and Egyptian Plant Quarantine, is currently conducting intensive contacts with the Russian side to solve the problem.
Gamea added that the Egyptian government is keen to export products that conform to international specifications and are approved by the relevant Russian authorities, especially since Egypt ranks first in the world in exporting oranges, with total exports of about two million tonnes annually.
She pointed out that Egyptian oranges are also exported to the European Union, China, Japan, and other countries.
The minister further noted that Russia is one of the most important receiving markets for Egyptian exports globally, as total Egyptian exports to Russia in 2021 amounted to $489m, compared to the previous year’s $416m — an increase of 17.5%.
Gamea elaborated that the current stage is witnessing an unprecedented economic momentum between Cairo and Moscow based on the steady increase in the annual trade exchange rates and negotiations of a free trade agreement between Egypt and the Eurasian Union countries in addition to a project to establish a Russian industrial zone in Egypt.
The minister said that an Egyptian government delegation will also visit Russia this month to prepare for Egyptian participation in the Saint Petersburg conference, which will be held in June, disclosing that Egypt will participate in the forum’s activities with a distinguished pavilion that reflects the achievements of the Egyptian state as the forum’s guest of honour.
Gamea added that the meeting also dealt with preparations for holding meetings of the Egyptian-Russian Joint Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation in the second half of next month with the participation of the two countries’ trade ministers.
On his part, Borisenko stressed that Russia and Egypt have solid strategic bilateral relations based on a long history of joint economic cooperation in various fields and at all levels.
He stated that the Russian side is looking forward to strengthening joint cooperation with Egypt, especially in light of the great interest the political leadership in the two countries assumed to move forward in achieving a qualitative leap in joint economic relations.
The Russian Embassy in Cairo is following with great interest the developments of halting Egyptian orange shipments at Russian ports, the ambassador said, pointing out that the embassy has coordinated with the relevant Russian authorities to pay more attention to this problem and work to solve it as soon as possible.
