Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed: One million feddans dedicated to increase exports to $5 billions annually
A study is under way in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture to dedicate one million feddans of farmlands to growing export crops in a bid to shovel up agricultural exports from $ one billion to $5 billions, said Egypt's Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry.
In statements during a meeting with the country's leading businessmen and exporters on Wednesday, Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed said both the ministries of agriculture and investments are coordinating efforts to hammer out a comprehensive plan for the inter-connected textile and ready-to-wear industries and the growing of cotton to enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian products abroad.
The textile and clothes industry absorbs 25 % of the total manpower in Egypt, he noted.
He said that his ministry together with the Public Business Sector are embarking on a scheme to boost the Egyptian exports to finally account for 20 % of the Gross Domestic Production (GDP).
The Cabinet's Economic Group has agreed to launch a unified mechanism in cooperation with the ministries of finance and planning along with the Central Bank of Egypt to unify the exports's statistics in order to render the concerned national plan credible, added Rasheed.
The Ministry has concluded the policies concerning the cement and fertilizers sectors and those concerning sugar, cotton and car manufacturing are underway, he said.
These policies encompass the government's vision for ten years to come, he added.
He said that the industrial sector has been in a slump so that its growth rate tumbled to 2.3 % while the set target is 7 %.
The ministries of Tourism, Investment and Foreign Trade will contribute $ 64 million to promote the Egyptian industries and the investment incentives available in Egypt, he added.
He said that the State has stopped subsidizing rice and citrus fruits while the subsidy grace period granted to the onion exports will expire by the end of this season, said the Minister.
The Egyptian standardization system will be streamlined to the international standards before the end of this year in order to bust the problems facing the Egyptian exports abroad, added Rasheed.