CAIRO: Tamer Mostafa, head of the Commercial Office in London and minister plenipotentiary of trade at the Egyptian Embassy in London, said that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the UK increased during the first quarter of 2022 by about 46 percent to reach £756 million pounds ($906 million), compared to £518 million during the same quarter last year.
This came during a symposium organized by the Export Council for Food Industries, in cooperation with the Egyptian Commercial Representation. Mostafa added that Egypt’s exports to the UK increased by 67.5 percent during the first three months of 2022 to reach £367 million, compared to £219 million, as Egypt’s non-oil exports to the Kingdom increased by 22 percent to £267 million, compared to £219 million during the previous year.
Egyptian imports from the UK for January-March 2022 increased by 30 percent to £389 million, compared to £299 million. This points to a decrease in the trade balance deficit between the two countries of 22 percent during the first three months of this year, compared to a deficit of 80 percent during the same period in 2021.
Mostafa said that the most important Egyptian imports from the UK during the past three years were iron and steel products, pharmaceuticals, machinery, appliances, electrical equipment, mineral fuel and petroleum, optical machines, photocopiers, plastics and plastic products, vegetables, potato seeds, oils and aromatic plants.
Regarding the impact of Britain’s exit from the EU, Mostafa said that it is still too early to judge, but the direct statistics of Egyptian non-oil exports to the UK witnessed an increase during the past year by 41.3 percent to reach £906.8 million, compared to £641.6 million, and imports rose 34.6 percent over the past year.
As a result of the high cost of living, according to the latest studies issued in Britain, consumers tend to buy discounted products, Mostafa explained. Therefore, providing quality products and good packaging at low prices, whether for Muslim communities or for British consumers, will increase the demand for them.
The minister also noted that there are opportunities for agricultural products manufactured in the British market, as well as for olives and dates, which are consumed by Muslim communities throughout the year, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
