The total value of trade between Egypt and France reached €4.4bn in 2022, up from €2.7bn in 2021, representing an increase of 60.34%, according to data from the Egyptian Commercial and Economic Office in Paris, The report showed that Egyptian exports to the French market experienced exceptional growth, with a total value of about €2.16bn by the end of 2022, compared to about €916.94m in 2021, representing a growth rate of nearly 136%. Non-oil Egyptian exports to the French market also saw an unprecedented growth rate of 54.13%, reaching about €1.163bn by the end of 2022, compared to about €754.6m in 2021.
Egypt’s top exports to France were fertilizer products, electronic devices, and electrical equipment, while cereals, excluding rice, legumes, and oilseeds, topped the list of Egyptian imports, registering €2.28bn in 2022, up from €1.85bn in 2021, an increase of about 23%.
These data demonstrate the success of the Egyptian Commercial and Economic Office in Paris in taking advantage of the negative effects of current international economic developments in favor of Egypt. The office coordinated with the Egyptian business community to provide the necessary studies and export opportunities, which directly contributed to the unprecedented growth rates achieved by Egyptian non-oil exports during 2022 by 54% compared to 2021.
The office’s efforts were focused on fertilizers, especially urea fertilizer, as it intensified efforts to promote this item to French companies and agencies. This led to an increase in French demand for the Egyptian market to meet its needs, and the value of Egyptian fertilizer exports to the French market grew by more than 154%.
Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir announced earlier the development of foreign trade indicators between Egypt and France, as Egyptian exports to the French market increased by 136% in 2022, reaching €2.16bn, compared to €917m in 2021. Merchandise exports to the French market in 2022 recorded an increase of 54%, with a value of €1.163bn, compared to about €754m in 2021, which contributed to reducing the trade balance deficit between the two countries at the end of 2022 by €121.9m, compared to €940.8m in 2021.
As the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) in Paris was following up on the activities of the 117th session of the Foire de Paris International Fair, which was held during the first week of May, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of Economic and Commercial Office at the Egyptian Embassy, Paris, Sayed Fouad, reported the continued growth of Egyptian non-oil exports in January and February 2023, amounting to about €168.9m, compared to €128.11m during the same period in 2022, with a growth rate of 31.8%.
Among the most prominent items that the office’s efforts contributed to its growth during that period are fertilizers, household and electronic appliances, and feeding industries for cars and organic chemicals.
He also stressed that since February 2021, a plan has been put in place to work to increase non-oil Egyptian exports to the French market in line with the presidential mandates issued to increase Egyptian exports to $100bn. This also comes in line with the emphasis Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, head of the Egyptian Commercial Service, on the importance of commercial offices abroad working to enhance access to Egyptian exports in the light of these directives.
The head of the Egyptian Commercial and Economic Office in Paris stressed the importance of the participation of Egyptian companies, especially those operating in areas including fertilizers, industries, agricultural crops, electronic products, and engineering industries, in specialized events and exhibitions held periodically in France to serve the goals of developing Egyptian exports in those sectors and to meet the needs of the French market in light of challenges facing global supply chains in the current international economic conditions.
