Egyptian food industry exports record $3.5bn in 2020

Published 21 Feb,2021 via Daily News Egypt - Egypt’s exports of food industries stabilised in 2020 at $3.5bn, which are the same rates in 2019, despite the negative repercussions of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on global trade.

The latest divs mean that Egypt occupies third place in terms of non-oil exports, possessing 13% of their value.

The Egyptian Food Export Council report noted that the sector’s exports decreased by 8% in December 2020 to record $272m, compared to $296m in 2019.

The report highlighted that the impact of COVID-19 on the sector’s exports was slight over the past year, as the sector recorded a growth of 4.2% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.

It stood at $907m in the quarter, compared to $870m in Q1 of 2019. Moreover, food industries exports grew by 3% in Q2 of 2020 to register $912m, compared to $885m in Q2 of 2019.

Food industries exports has reported a slight growth in Q3 of 2020 to record $843m, compared to $836m in Q3 of 2019, while in Q4 of 2020, exports decreased by 8.7% to $794m, compared to $870m in Q4 of 2019.

The report showed that the impact of the pandemic began to appear in March 2020, when exports of food industries decreased by 4%. The highest rates of decline were in the months of May by 23%, October by 13%, and July by 10%.

Nevertheless, food industries exports achieved growth in January by 20%, June by 42%, and August by 14%.

The report pointed out that 10 countries account for 64% of the sector’s total exports last year, with a value of $2.4bn.

“Food industry exports to Arab countries during the past year decreased to record $1.865bn compared to approximately $1.933bn in 2019, a decrease of 3%, to account for 54% of the sector’s total exports,” the report read, “Exports to European Union countries increased by 7% to register $490m in 2020, compared to around $457m to account for 14% of their total value.”

The report added that food industries exports decreased to non-Arab African countries by about $386m, compared to about $412m in 2019, reflecting a 6% decrease, acquiring 11% of its value.

Egypt’s exports of food industries to the US were down 11% in the past year, to record $181m compared to $202m in the previous year, to acquire 5% of the sector’s exports. At the same time, Egyptian food industries exports to the rest of the world were valued at $535m compared to $456m, an increase of 17%, the report said.

© 2021 Daily News Egypt. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info)

DISCLAIMER: This content is provided to us “as is” and unedited by an external third party provider. We cannot attest to or guarantee the accuracy of information provided in this article from the external third party provider. We do not endorse any views or opinions included in this article.