Egypt’s exports of readymade garments grew by 4.4 per cent during the first half of 2019. But readymade garments exported by Egypt to European countries dropped by seven per cent while exports to African countries plunged by 60 per cent. Exports to the US rose by 19 per cent. In addition, Egypt’s readymade garment exports to Arab countries surged by 24 per cent.

June exports of readymade garments grew 11 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier. Egypt’s garment exports go 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.