Egypt Benefited from Global Shipping Crisis: Ready-to-Wear Council

Marie Louise, head of the Ready-to-Wear Export Council said that the sector's exports witnessed a growth of 41% during 2021, equivalent to $592 million, to more than $2 billion.

Louise explained during her interview on DMC TV, that the sector benefited greatly last year from the trade agreements signed by Egypt that give exemptions and customs reductions to many international groups, saying, “We are reaping the fruits of the agreements with the high value of shipping from China to the countries of the world, especially to America, where it increased the price of the container ranges from $5,000 to $15,000.”

She added that most of the international brands that are made in China began to move to Egypt, noting that clothing manufacturers and exporters made great efforts to increase the volume of their production and business, as well as reducing waste in expenses, and the disbursement of export dues had an effect in providing liquidity to factories to purchase raw materials.

She noted that last year witnessed the entry of 23 new factories into export, which provided 40,000 job opportunities, including branded brands from a group of entrepreneurs, pointing out that the sector represents about 10% of the non-oil national product.

Louise stated that the biggest challenges facing the sector are the industrial fees that are constantly increasing, which increases the cost of production and thus reduces competitiveness with East Asian countries, calling for the importance of reducing the interest rate in order to help companies modernize machines, which increases the quality of products.