Ready-made garments, printing and packaging, the engineering industries, and the food industries recorded higher year-on-year exports in the first six months of this year despite the tensions in the region, according to reports issued this week.
Remaining resilient even with the mounting regional challenges, ready-made garment revenues rose by 15 per cent, reaching $1.77 billion, thanks to increasing exports to the US and Europe. The sector’s export council aims to raise total exports to $4 billion by the end of the year.
Mohamed Abdel-Salam, head of the Ready-Made Garments and Home Textiles Export Council, said the sector has expanded into several new export destinations, including Arab and African markets, while continuing to strengthen its presence in its traditional markets in the US and Europe.
He said the new markets include Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and Jordan, in addition to Kenya and Tanzania. The latter two markets, he added, serve as regional hubs for several neighbouring landlocked countries.
Ready-made garment exports to the US and Europe have not been affected by the regional conflicts because shipments are transported via the Mediterranean, he explained.
Contributing to the increasing exports of Egyptian garments and home textiles are the rising production costs in Turkey due to high inflation, which has made Egyptian products more price competitive, Abdel-Salam noted.
He also pointed to the growing number of Chinese and Turkish manufacturers operating in Egypt, which has driven up both production capacity and export volumes.
Although the regional instability has led to an increase in energy and electricity costs, the prices of Egyptian products in this sector have a competitive advantage, he added.
Meanwhile, exports of the food industries sector recorded $3.7 billion during the first half of the year. According to the Food Export Council, the increase reflects the sector’s diversified export strategy, which has reduced reliance on a limited number of markets or products.
Egyptian food exports are delivered to 108 markets, led by the Arab countries, which account for 46 per cent of total exports, followed by the European Union with a 23 per cent share. The US ranks third among Egypt’s food industries export destinations.
Saudi Arabia is the largest market for Egyptian food exports, followed by the US and Jordan. Spain recorded the fastest growth, with exports to this market surging by 94 per cent.
Egypt aims to increase exports to LE100 billion by 2030 by expanding production and boosting access to international markets. The Ministry of Industry has identified seven priority sectors for exports including ready-made garments, the food industries, pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing, electrical equipment, the engineering industries, and electronics.
The ministry is also pursuing a strategy to localise industrial production, deepen domestic manufacturing, reduce the import bill, and raise the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP to 20 per cent by 2030.
Besides focusing on priority sectors, Egypt is promoting supporting industries and cross-sector manufacturing activities that supply production inputs to multiple sectors. It also seeks to substitute imported goods with locally manufactured alternatives to ease pressure on the national currency.
Egypt’s non-oil exports reached $48.567 billion in 2025, up from $41.507 billion in 2024, marking an annual increase of 17 per cent.
Meanwhile, exports from the Printing and Packaging Export Council rose by 14 per cent to $525 million, while engineering exports increased by 6.6 per cent during the first half of the year to reach $3.35 billion.
According to Sherif Al-Sayyad, chair of the Engineering Export Council, the increase in engineering exports was driven by growing international demand for Egyptian engineering products, alongside support for exporting companies and efforts to open up new markets.
Electrical and electronic industries recorded the strongest increase, with exports rising by 65 per cent, followed by pumps, boilers, and engines at 31 per cent, cables at 23 per cent, and automotive components at 22 per cent.
Exports of tableware and kitchenware increased by nine per cent, while household appliances grew by two per cent.
Council data also showed a broad expansion across international markets. Engineering exports rose to several European countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Romania, and Turkey.
Exports also increased to a number of Arab markets, most notably Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sudan, Tunisia, Syria, and Qatar.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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