Egypt’s readymade garment exports increased 12 per cent in the first five months of the current year compared to the same period in 2017. Exports to the US also went up by 12 per cent. Garment exports to Europe rose by 16 per cent. But as for garment exports to Arab countries, they dropped by 16 per cent.

Egypt’s garment exports are mainly to the US, Turkey, Spain, Britain, North Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Egypt wants to have stronger trade relations with Africa. Steps include taking part in international exhibitions in the African continent and setting up an Egyptian-African free trade zone.

Egypt’s main exports to Africa are engineering industries, pharmaceuticals, chemical garments, food industries, and construction materials. Egypt wants to increase exports to the African continent by 35 per cent in 2017. The main countries Egypt is interested in are Kenya, Zambia and Ivory Coast. However, working to make Egypt a leading international trade center in the Middle East requires work to increase the capacities of Egyptian ports in order to attract more container ships as well as working on the development of logistics capabilities and infrastructure to support this trend.