Export ups and downs Egyptian non-petroleum exports saw a 21.7 per cent decline during the first quarter of 2015, a recent report by the General Organisation for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) showed. According to the GOEIC, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, Egyptian exports from January to March of this year reached LE34.5 billion ($4.6 billion), compared to LE41.1 billion ($5.9 billion) in the same period of 2014. The report stated that the exports volume during the first three months of this year was 33 per cent lower than the expected LE52 billion ($6.9 billion), adding that total exports during this period represented 16.5 per cent of the LE212 billion ($28 billion) targeted for 2015. It also said that Egyptian exports in the food industries came to LE1.95 billion ($257.15 million) in March alone, compared to LE3.09 billion ($407.15 million) in the first two months of 2015. Exports of agricultural crops also increased in March to LE1.81 billion ($239 million), while totalling LE3.08 ($406.15 million) in January and February. Egyptian furniture exports in March stood at LE259 million ($34.14 million) as opposed to LE427.8 million ($56.3 million) in January and February. Mercedes withdraws German carmaker Daimler, which produces Mercedes luxury cars, announced on Friday it will withdraw from Egyptian German Automotive (EGA), its local joint venture through which it has been assembling vehicles in Cairo. Daimler holds a 26 per cent stake in EGA. According to the DPA news agency, Daimler said its decision was due to a continued decline in import duties by the Egyptian government as a result of an Egyptian-European agreement which stipulates an annual decrease of 10 per cent on customs duties on cars imported from Europe until 2020 when duties will reach zero per cent. DPA also stated that Daimler was assembling some vehicles in Egypt to avoid Egyptian import duties. The company will continue to import complete cars into the Egyptian market and sell them through its dealers. Tax reforms No time frame for the application of the new value added tax (VAT) has been decided, Ayman Alkaffas, deputy minister of finance for international affairs and social development, told journalists this week. Speaking on the fringe of a seminar on Recent Developments in International and Egyptian Taxation organised by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Swiss-Egyptian Business Association, he said the law was being discussed as part of the social dialogue process.
