Egyptian commodity exports to European Union (EU) countries increased significantly during 2017, at a value of about €8.1bn, compared to €6.7bn in 2016, an increase of 21%, according to a Friday press statement from Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil. Furthermore, the large increase in Egyptian exports to these markets contributed to the growth of the value of trade exchange between Egypt and EU countries during the past year to reach about €28bn, versus €27.3bn in 2016, the statement added. "The EU is Egypt's main economic and trade partner. It is Egypt's most important export market that accounts for 22.7% of Egypt's exports to foreign markets," the minister stated. For his part, Ahmed Antar, head of the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS), revealed that Egyptian export items to the markets of EU countries that achieved an increase during 2017 included iron and aluminium products, fertilisers, chemical goods, agricultural crops, engineering goods, plastics, construction materials, textiles, garments, and leather products. The EU is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. They are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. "The most important EU countries that imported from Egypt last year were Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK, and Bulgaria," Antar said.
