The international regulatory obstacles hindering Egyptian exports will be discussed at a workshop in Cairo this month. Eman Youssef reports The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Ministry of Foreign Trade are jointly organising a workshop in Cairo in late May to discuss trade obstacles, according to Massimo Garzelli, head of the UNIDO regional office in Egypt. "According to WTO regulations, which will be implemented from January 2005, all agricultural products will be traceable," Garzelli told Al-Ahram Weekly. "All product details such as the storage and type of pesticides or other chemicals used have to be labelled on the product itself before it enters Europe," said Garzelli. Starting this week, technical assistance will be offered to Egypt, funded by the Italian Debt for Development, as part of so-called non-traditional activity, according to Garzelli. He emphasised that UNIDO's main objective is the promotion of the foreign direct investment and industrial production in Egypt. "How to overcome the external trade obstacles will be the main issue of discussion with the major Egyptian stockholders during the workshop," Akrum Bastawi, an international trade specialist, told the Weekly. Egypt has unexploited opportunities for exports in sectors such as food processing, according to Garzelli. He also mentioned that Egypt should expand its agricultural exports to Europe, taking advantage of the different growing seasons. "There is an open market for the Egyptian products," said Garzelli, adding that the wood and leather sectors are most promising. The local granite and marble industries have yet to promote themselves sufficiently, according to Garzelli. He emphasised that the granite industry in particular must be developed in order to meet Europe's high demand. Egypt has a wide variety of high-quality granite, but the required machinery is very expensive. "Egypt has been picked by UNIDO and WTO from nine countries to do a test location in order to identify key areas and sectors which could benefit from future programming of technical assistance and support," Bastawi told the Weekly. Garzelli said that Egypt was chosen because of its large and dynamic economy and influence in the region. "UNIDO has taken the initiative and signed a memorandum of understanding with WTO, to work together and benefit from both parties' expertise," said Bastawi adding that this has been an outcome of an agreement that was signed in Cancun last September during the ministerial meetings of WTO. This workshop will be considered as part of a broader plan to help developing countries to benefit from international trade systems, according to Bastawi. "We can not compete in the global marketplace if we are not producing competitive enough products," Bastawi said. He added that Egypt must take advantage of the benefits that come with GATT membership and the openness of many markets. UNIDO is currently helping companies to understand how to be more competitive by working along with the government. The objective of the workshop is to identify the priority sectors and technical issues to be considered for technical assistance which could be delivered from the WTO and UNIDO. Representatives from the government and private sector, university experts and decision-makers will be attending. "To make the maximum benefit from the international rules and regulation concerning trade, our goal is to eliminate the negative effects of exports," said Garzelli.
