Egypt’s industrial sector struggles with growing Chinese presence
Faced with various economic challenges, the Egyptian government now has to protect its national industry from Chinese goods, which are both cheaper and made to better suit the population’s needs.
Chinese goods, especially traditional handicrafts, have invaded the Egyptian market. In this regard, Atef Yaacoub, head of Egypt's Consumer Protection Agency, stressed in March 2013 the need to take strict measures to stop the flow of the goods into Egypt.
Although the quality of Chinese products might be at times questioned, they were met with large demand because of their low prices, as the number of Chinese companies in Egypt rose from 1,000 in 2010 to 1,198 in 2015.
The market for these products has grown considerably and become a primary factor behind the current economic downturn, leading former Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour to decree in April 2015 an import ban on all Chinese imitations of Egypt's traditional handicrafts in an attempt to curb this invasion of the Egyptian market.
The former minister justified the ban on Chinese goods at a press conference in April, arguing that it aims to preserve the local production. He said, “This decree is 100% legal, as it comes in application of the 1994 international General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT], which gives us the right to protect our local goods.”
