Egypt’s agricultural exports fell by US$90m (E£1.6bn) to US$2bn in the 10 months to June 2017, Almal News has reported.
According to the chairman of Egypt’s Agricultural Export Council (AEC), Abdel Hamid Demerdash, export volumes in fact increased by some 75,000 tonnes to 3.5m tonnes, despite the decline in value.
Demerdash attributed the decline to the ban on Egyptian produce imposed by certain countries and the loss of Egypt’s share on foreign markets due to cheaper alternatives from competing countries.
Egyptian exports mainly go to the Arab states, Russia and the EU, he pointed out, with exports to Arab countries accounting for 50 per cent of total agricultural exports. Oranges and potatoes were the most exported products over the past 10 months, he added.
According to another official, despite a decline in dollar-denominated exports, exports in pounds rose over this period, thanks to Egypt’s newly liberalised exchange rate.
