Egypt imports foods worth $12 billion a year – c.bank governor

Egypt imports between $10 billion and $12 billion in foods a year, including $6 billion in wheat, oils, and corn, the country’s central bank governor told a conference Tuesday.

With Egypt long dependent on imports, Tarek Amer called the country’s private sector to exert more efforts to fill the gap and meet the market’s needs.

“Food is the state’s national security, and the private sector has to pay its role to fill the local market’s needs and make added-value investments supporting the national economy,” Amer said.

The exports are still ‘weak’ and not exceeding the $20 billion levels yet, the central bank governor said. But, Amer said they have the potential to grow and reach between $40 billion and $50 billion soon as the depreciation of the Egyptian Pound has improved the competitiveness of Egyptian exports in international markets.