AT A RECENT meeting with members of the Chamber of Food Industries, officials from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) sought to encourage manufacturers to make the most of existing trade agreements. Tareq Matar, from the MTI's trade agreements division, stressed that by cumulating -- i.e. incorporating components from other countries with which the EU has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), local producers could meet the local component specifications required to export to the EU. Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan -- signatories, like Egypt, of the Agadir agreement -- and Turkey, which Egypt signed an FTA in December, all qualify. MTI officials also called on food manufacturers to identify products in need of protection. The information, says Amani El-Wassal of MTI's trade agreements division, is important in formulating the ministry's negotiating position with the EU in talks aimed at further liberalising the agricultural sector. Food manufacturers were also asked to specify the grace period needed for them to adjust to further liberalisation and to identify non-tariff barriers hammering export to the EU. The meeting between MTI officials and the chamber of food industries was held as part of a series of workshops exploring the opportunities provided by Egypt's trade agreements. The workshops are part of the EU-supported Trade Enhancement Programme which aims to help increase Egyptian exports of textiles, ready- made garments, agricultural produce and food products.
