In 2021, Egypt exported $45.2 billion worth of goods, marking a 80 per cent increase from their level in 2020, according to the cabinet.

Non-oil exports constituted 71.5 per cent of the total, while oil and gas exports constituted the remaining 28.5 per cent of the total value of exports in 2021.

The most notable hike was in the oil and gas sector, with export revenue from Egypt’s petroleum sector increasing to $12.9 billion in 2021, representing a 84.3 per cent surge on their level in 2020.

According to Tarek Al-Molla, minister of petroleum and mineral resources, Egypt’s export revenues from natural and liquefied gas saw more than a fivefold increase, or about 550 per cent, to reach $3.9 billion, up from $600 million in 2020.

The value of crude oil exports jumped by 32 per cent to record $3.3 billion in 2021, while petrochemical products recorded a 42.5 per cent rise in exports in 2021 to $5.7 billion, up from $4 billion in 2020.

A report by Fitch Solutions said that the production of Egypt’s petrochemicals sector had reached 3.34 million tons during the 2020-2021 fiscal year, noting that it had achieved a growth in revenues by 50 per cent on a yearly basis and enhanced Egypt’s ambition to become a regional hub for oil and gas.

Fitch said that new projects implemented by the petrochemicals sector in Egypt include the Red Sea Petrochemicals Complex project in Ain Sokhna with investments of $7.5 billion, the Al-Alamein Petrochemicals Complex with investments of $8 billion and a production capacity of 4.7 million tons per year, the methanol derivatives project in Suez with investments of $119 million, and a bio-ethanol project with investments of $112 million that aims to add 3.7 million tons per year to production capacity.

“We have good export volumes, and Egypt has many trade agreements with the European Union, the US, and the African countries,” said Khaled Abul-Makarem, head of the Export Council for Chemical Industries, adding that fertilisers and plastics were the top exported products last year.

Al-Makarem said that growth in the petrochemicals sector during 2020 had reached six per cent despite the coronavirus pandemic. “We are targeting a volume of exports of up to $8 billion this year,” he stated.

According to Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad, the African continent is a target for Egyptian exports, and there are plans to expand exports to the continent in order to help realise the dream of reaching $100 billion of Egyptian exports in the near future.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said that what had been achieved in terms of exports in 2021 was the result of great efforts made by the government in exceptional circumstances such as the coronavirus pandemic that had negatively affected economies worldwide.

Madbouli said that the government had focused on encouraging the industrial and export sectors in order to deal with the effects of the pandemic and still achieve remarkable progress.

He pointed to the many initiatives launched to support exports, including the export-support programme that includes disbursing financial arrears to exporters, some of which date back to 2012.

“The government has provided manufacturers and exporters with funding that has exceeded LE31 billion,” he added.

Changes in the customs system by simplifying procedures and facilitating the movement of international trade, whether through imports or exports, through an integrated one-window system had also helped to raise exports, Madbouli said.

“There are many measures the government has taken to realise the dream of Egyptian exports exceeding $100 billion,” he said.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, the government’s LE31 billion support for the export sector has been spent on more than 3,000 companies since the launch of the initiative to refund arrears to exporters in cash in October 2019.

One of the key players in boosting exports through paying what is due to exporters is the Egyptian Export Development Bank (EEDB). This finances import-substitution projects, provides financing for Egyptian exports, and facilitates the entry of Egyptian products to various global markets.

The EEDB board has approved an increase in its issued and paid-up capital from LE3.2 billion to LE5.2 billion, an increase of LE2 billion through cash subscriptions from shareholders.  

Minister of Trade and Industry Niveen Gamea said that the capital increase aimed to support the bank’s capital base, increase the volume of its activities, and enhance its expansion plans by increasing the number of branches and creating a competitive advantage in granting loans.

“The bank played an important role in paying the financial arrears due to exporters, giving a great boost to Egyptian exports during 2021,” Gamea said.

Egypt’s exports from food industries increased during 2021 by about $644 million, or approximately 19 per cent over 2020, to record $4.1 billion and comparing to about $3.45 billion in 2020.

Hani Barzi, head of the Export Council for Food Industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said in a statement that the top importing countries for Egypt’s food industries in 2021 had included Saudi Arabia with exports worth $304 million, Sudan with a value of $223 million and a growth rate of 222 per cent, and the US with a value of $223 million and a growth rate of 23 per cent in 2020.

Libya ranked fourth in terms of top importing countries of Egyptian food products, with a value of $202 million and a growth rate of 24 per cent, followed by Jordan with a value of $188 million and a growth rate of 11 per cent.

Barzi said the Food Export Council is working with other agencies to increase Egypt’s exports through marketing and promotional activities including plans to continue positive increases in exports and carry out trade missions to African, Arab, and other fast-growing markets.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 10 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.