Egypt’s Imports Plunge $7 billion in 2016

• Egypt’s Imports Plunge $7 billion in 2016

The total volume of Egypt’s imports has declined by $7 billion since the beginning of 2016 until to date.

Egypt’s Trade Minister Tarek Qabil said on Monday that this drop came in pursuant of plans to rationalise importing and replacing it with the national industry.

The minister made these remarks during his meeting with the Chairman of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), Ahmed El-Wakeel and members of house wares division at the FEDCOC.

Qabil added that the ministry, with its all affiliate agencies, would support these projects so as to deepen national industry and raise Egyptian products shares in local and global markets.

The ministry is ready to provide new investors with utilised industrial lands in Upper Egypt in order to support government’s approach to develop Upper Egypt provide job opportunities for youths there, the minister noted.

The country’s exports to the United Arab Emirates also increased by 176.5 per cent during the first eight months of 2016.

This is contained in Egypt’s statistics centre’s, CAPMAS, monthly bulletin on the state’s foreign trade.

The data covers from January-August 2016.

It shows that Egypt’s exports to UAE recorded 14.6 billion Egyptian pounds (US$771.5 million) against 5.3 billion pounds at the same period of 2015.