EFTA and Egypt hold trade promotion seminar

Egypt is the largest export market in Africa and EFTA's third largest trade partner in the region.

EFTA speakers and experts presented the technical and practical aspects of accessing the EFTA markets, with a focus on the opportunities created by the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for Egyptian producers and exporters. Topics covered were customs issues such as rules of origin, proofs of origin and the verification procedure as well as issues on sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and technical standards. Furthermore, experts explained to the Egyptian participants how trade in agricultural products is addressed in the FTA. Other presentations were made on how to export to EFTA States and what producers should keep in mind when exploring export opportunities.

During the roundtable discussions, participants from different companies had the possibility to exchange points of view and ask questions about exporting to EFTA States.

Total merchandise trade between the EFTA States and Egypt stood at USD 1.6 billion in 2017, making Egypt EFTA’s third largest merchandise trade partner in Africa and the largest export market in the region. Among EFTA’s leading exports to Egypt in 2017 were pharmaceuticals, electrical cables, and organic chemicals. The top import items from Egypt were gold, textiles and quartz.