Priorities set to enhance industrial production
A paper prepared by the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA) outlined the priorities required to develop industry including upgrading production technology, using modern production methods by hiring Egyptian or foreign experts, studying the elements of cost and the potential of reducing it, have new production licenses with the right of know-how and technical assistance, providing competent administrative and technical cadres and paying more attention to marketing on both the local and target foreign markets.
EBA also stressed in its paper the need to allocate part of the budgets of industrial companies for scientific research to ensure continuing development of production.
Each group of companies could join together in having a joint research centre that could offer services to the members of the group.
The study has also stressed the urgent need for offering all forms of support to small production units to enhance their competitiveness.
It also called on banks to widen the scale of credit facilities they make available to industrial projects and reduce the interest rate on the loans they offer to industrial investors.
EBA has also called for setting priorities for export-orientated industries and those that provide more job opportunities together with studying the possibility of offering 100 per cent credit coverage for the importation of raw materials and other production requirements.
"In the meantime, there are certain situations where decisive and rapid decisions have to be taken to maintain stability for the industrial projects that face financing problems in light of the current recession on the market," the study said.
Other priorities tackled by the study, being essential for promoting industry and encouraging industrial investors, include reducing some of the heavy taxes imposed on industries as it said that there were about 40 various types of taxes on industry.
It also underlined the need to remedy customs discrepancies. "In most cases customs duties on manufactured products are lower than those imposed on production requirements and components required for producing a similar local product, which at the end impair the competitiveness of local production," it said.
EBA secretary general, Mohammed Youssef, said that the study also urged making an inventory of the non-exploited production capacities in the industrial sector and studying them in order to pave the way for making the best use of them to enhance industrial production and quality.
In the meantime, the study underlined the significance of the small and medium industries stressing how they constitute the backbone of the economies in almost all the developed counties.
It urged in that respect introducing reforms to the structure of the Egyptian industry in order to give more attention to the feeding and complementary industries.
The study also called for the setting up of one authority to be entrusted with the Egyptian industry in general as most of the Egyptian manufacturers do not find a specific authority to offer them financial, technical and marketing aid or even listen to their problems and help them find solutions.
Thus, the study recommended the establishing of a higher council for industry having all the authorities to care for and support the industrial activities.
"Such a proposed council should include representatives of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, investors' associations and the ministries concerned with industry, financing, economy, planning and military production.
"Moreover, there has to be a specific and obvious strategy for the Egyptian industries over the coming period in which the private sector should take part," it said.