Egypt backs advanced technology, export facilitation to boost pharmaceutical industry
Industry Minister Khaled Hashem said the government is encouraging the adoption of modern technology and specialized expertise in the pharmaceutical sector to help produce high-quality and innovative medicines that meet domestic demand and support expansion into export markets.
The ministry will also study the adoption of effective mechanisms to facilitate export procedures in coordination with relevant ministries and authorities, Hashem said.
These measures would include accelerating customs approvals, streamlining quality certifications and reducing routine procedures to ensure smoother export operations and strengthen factories’ ability to meet foreign demand efficiently.
The minister made the remarks during a field tour of five pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Obour Industrial City in Qalyubia province.
The visit is part of a series of inspections of factories and industrial zones aimed at monitoring production processes, identifying manufacturers’ needs on the ground and exploring ways to support and develop the pharmaceutical sector to meet local demand and boost exports.
Hashem began the tour with a visit to the Global Pharmaceutical Industries Company “Unipharma,” built on an area of 10,000 square meters with capital of 100 million Egyptian pounds. The plant has a local component ratio of about 60% and provides more than 500 direct and indirect jobs.
The company’s exports reached about 27.8 million pounds in 2025.
The minister then visited the Amoun Pharmaceuticals plant, part of Aresira Global Life Sciences, built on an area exceeding 58,000 square meters with investments estimated at around 9 billion pounds. The plant has an annual production capacity of 333 million packs with a local component ratio of about 30% and provides around 2,700 direct and indirect jobs. Its exports reached about 850 million pounds in 2025.
The tour also included a visit to Markerel Pharmaceutical Industries, built on an area of 11,500 square meters, with ongoing expansions to establish a new factory covering 11,200 square meters.
The project has capital of 350 million pounds and a production capacity of 12 million units per month, with a local component ratio of 45%. The company employs about 2,200 workers in the industrial and scientific sectors and recorded exports of around 814 million pounds in 2025.
Hashem also toured the Orchidya Pharmaceutical Industries plant, built on an area of 6,000 square meters with capital of 500 million pounds and total investments exceeding 2.07 billion pounds.
The plant has an annual production capacity of about 90 million units with a local component ratio of 80% and provides about 630 direct jobs. The company’s exports reached around 620 million pounds in 2025.
The tour concluded with a visit to the Jamjoom Pharma plant, built on an area of 15,500 square meters with investments exceeding $70 million.
The facility has an annual production capacity of around 73 million packs and provides about 350 direct and indirect jobs. The minister reviewed tablet and capsule production lines as well as cream and ointment packaging lines and the manufacturing stages and quality and safety standards applied at the facility.