Egypt disburses 1st tranche of exporters’ arrears under new cabinet-approved mechanism

According to the minister, 601 exporting companies received a combined EGP 368 million, covering shipments until the end of June 2024.

This comes in addition to payments made on 12 August. Kouchouk emphasized that the move aims to inject much-needed liquidity into the sector, thereby boosting exports and enhancing competitiveness in international markets.

He said the current fiscal year has earmarked EGP 45 billion for the new export support and drawback programme, double the previous allocations.

The programme is designed to reimburse export burdens within three months of completing the required documentation, while also finalizing the settlement of overdue payments to exporters.

Minister Kouchouk highlighted that the measure builds on earlier initiatives rolled out since 2019 in coordination with the Ministry of Investment and External Trade, including the seven-phase Immediate Cash Settlement Initiative, which benefited around 3,000 exporters with a total of EGP 75 billion.

Nevine Mansour, advisor to the finance minister for economic institutions relations, noted that the first tranche was disbursed through the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and the Export Development Bank of Egypt.

In cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt, funds were also transferred to companies that do not have accounts at these four banks, with the amounts deposited into their accounts at other banks free of administrative fees.

Egypt targets raising the export value by 20 percent annually through 2030 under the country's new Economic Development  Narrative that charts a map for the Egyptian economy for the coming five years, with a key focus on creating jobs and boosting economic growth.

Egypt also aims to raise its annual exports to reach $115.8 billion by 2030, up from the $40 billion achieved in 2024, according to previous statements by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

The country's non-oil private sector economy witnessed another modest contraction in August, as weak demand weighed on activity, according to the latest S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published early September.