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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 July 2000 Issue No. 491 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 July 2000 Issue No. 491
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters COMESA comes into its own
By Mona El-Fiqi
In an attempt to promote Egyptian exports to the other members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Egypt's International Economic Forum (IEF) last week hosted a one-day seminar on "the impact of COMESA on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)."
Businessmen and officials agreed that with a combined total population of 300 million people, COMESA constitutes an emerging market which is already absorbing large amounts of Egyptian exports- notably foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, plastic manufactures, textiles and ceramics.
But although most African consumers prefer low-priced Egyptian commodities to more expensive European goods, Egyptian entrepreneurs still face a host of problems.
Nermine Nour, the chairman of the Egyptian Young Exporters' Association who has opened markets for hand-made products in the Sudan and in Eritrea, has argued that although the flexibility of product specifications and the reduction of customs duties have eased the flow of Egyptian exports into African markets, high transport costs and currency risks still remain. She therefore suggested that Egyptian banks provide SMEs with loans to boost exports to other African countries. In the absence of hard facts on the import needs of COMESA countries, Nour also called on the government to provide more data.
Since the lack of reliable information has had a negative impact on the trade balance among member countries, COMESA's April conference in Cairo already recommended that the Egyptian Social Fund for Development establish an information network to provide SMEs with accurate figures on African markets.
Reda Baybars, the minister plenipotentiary for African affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, contended that the government could not furnish more data owing to the insufficient number of information agencies abroad.
While the COMESA Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supplies the names and telephone numbers of importers in any African country, Egyptian businessmen have to establish direct contacts themselves.
Baybars also blamed the bad reputation of Egyptian exports on the tendency of entrepreneurs to allegedly treat Africa as a market for separate exports rather than as a permanent outlet for goods.
Though internal customs duties between member countries are to be lowered by 90 per cent, Baybars conceded that further problems might arise if the cuts are not applied any time soon.
Despite these difficulties, authorities, however, maintained that COMESA has the potential to become a more lucrative market for Egyptian exports in the future. Within one year of joining COMESA, Egypt's trade balance with member countries has already risen by 60 per cent.
Nasser Kamel, head of the COMESA Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also noted that although the overall trade volume among COMESA countries is still very low, it is growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent.
These figures are due to rise even further following the abolition of customs duties among member countries and the establishment of a free trade area in October 2000. By 2004, COMESA is scheduled to introduce a common external tariff. By developing production and marketing systems in member states, COMESA also hopes to achieve sustainable economic growth. What is more, support for joint ventures in all sectors of the economy are expected to raise living standards.
To address existing difficulties, the IEF recommended that the government conduct further studies on African markets and discuss the problems facing exporters in addition to promoting exhibitions for Egyptian products in big African hubs.
