CAIRO: Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) exports of textiles and ready-made garments to the US jumped to $306 million from the period between January and May 2007, up from $223 million during the same period last year. According to state figures, the recent surge was due to a rise in ready-made garments to $273 million up by 33 percent, as well as a rise in linens to $25 million, up by 163 percent. Exports of cotton also climbed to $2.3 million, while exports of carpets climbed to $0.5 million, a rise of 49 percent. Recent studies record a 37.5 percent increase in textile and ready-made garments to the US over the same period last year. Meanwhile, Egypt is seeking to decrease Israeli component in the QIZ agreement from the current 11.7 percent to 8 percent. According to the Ministry of Trade, negotiations have been underway with the Israeli side ever since signing the agreement. The same case was true with Jordan, which was able to lower the Israeli component. A lower Israeli component will increase quantity of Egyptian exports and raise competitiveness of Egyptian products.
