Export support announced In an attempt to help Egyptian exporters expand their sales, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Trade this week jointly sponsored what they called an “exporters' souk”. The “souk”, the Arabic word for market, was meant to connect Egyptian exporters with local providers of export services such as finance, logistics and marketing. It brought together over 500 small and medium enterprises and more than 60 export services. “Connections to in-country export resources and specialised service providers can help exporters expand their sales and increase Egypt's economic growth,” Sherry Carlin, director of the USAID mission in Egypt, said in a press release. Speaking on behalf of the minister of trade, Ashraf Ezzeldin, director of the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) unit at the ministry, invited exporters to look into the QIZ system. He said that in the 10 years since it was launched in 2005, the value of QIZ exports had grown from around $280 million to more than $800 million in 2014, mostly by companies in the ready-made garments sector. He said that the exports of food items and leather products from QIZs remained minimal, however. Whereas exports from QIZs enjoyed duty-free entry to the US, Ezzeldin said non-QIZ food exports to the US paid anywhere from 14 to 29 per cent duty on entry, while leather products such as handbags carried duties of 10 to 16 per cent. Duties on shoes could reach 37 per cent. To enjoy duty-free entry to the US, companies must satisfy a minimum Israeli input of 11.7 per cent in their products.