Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour said on Tuesday that Egypt's exports fell by 21.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, reaching US$4.63 billion compared to $5.9 billion in the same period of 2014.
Abdel Nour attributed the drop to exchange rate fluctuations, energy shortages that prevented factories from producing at maximum capacity, and political changes in Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. In addition, the delays in opening credit letters have had a negative impact on the import of raw materials and primary products, causing lower production rates and failure to comply with contracts signed with foreign companies.
He also said that banning the export of certain products, such as sodium carbonate and marble, and imposing fees on others, such as rice, have also contributed to the drop, in addition to preferring to focus on the domestic market at the expense of exports.
Ali Eisa, Chairman of the Agricultural Crops Export Council, attributed the drop to a reduction of the Export Development Fund from LE4 billion to LE2.6 billion.
