Egypt-Russia trade soaring – official

Trade between Russia and Egypt is set to top $7 billion by the end of the year, Aleksey Tevanyan, Russia’s trade representative in the North African country, told RIA Novosti in an interview published on Saturday. According to Tevanyan, the surge is due in large part to increased exports to Egypt.

“The positive dynamics in mutual trade continued in 2023... By the end of this year, we expect that trade turnover will increase by a quarter [against last year],” the official stated, adding that the trend will likely continue next year. In 2022, trade turnover between Moscow and Cairo jumped by 30% year-on-year to over $6 billion.

Tevanyan noted that with economic cooperation growing, Egyptian companies are increasingly eager to switch from Western to national currencies in trade transactions with Moscow.

“Over the past few years, dollars and euros have become scarce in Egypt, which is why problems periodically arise with payments for goods already delivered. In this regard, Egyptian partners have expressed great interest in switching to payments in national currencies,” he said.

The trade representative noted that agricultural goods and equipment are the most promising areas for trade growth. He went on to say that Russia has been among the major suppliers of grain to Egypt, one of the world’s top wheat importers, throughout 2023, shipping more than 8 million tons to the country.

“Our vegetable oil and steel are also popular. The developed local cable industry has a significant demand for copper, and the furniture and construction industry for wood,” he added.

Moscow and Cairo have also been working on a free trade agreement with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which is expected to contribute to further diversification in trade. According to Tevanyan, talks on the deal are in the final stage.

“The conclusion of a free trade agreement between Egypt and the EEU will simplify access for our goods to the Egyptian market,” he added.

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