Cairo — Mubasher: The Egyptian Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council (CFEC) is seeking to increase exports by 20% to $6.5 billion by the end of this year.

The council is to hold a meeting within days to consider addressing all troubles undermining exports, the CFEC’s chairman said in a statement.  

The CFEC has defined nine major problems facing Egyptian chemical exports, along with providing suitable solutions for it, Khalid Abu Al-Makarem added.

The obstacles include the high financing cost of exports, which in return raises the cost of production and exports, he explained.

In a bid to tackle this issue, the council suggests stepping up the Export Development Bank of Egypt’s role in financing programmes for exports by securing a low interest-rate credit.

In the same vein, Abu Al-Makarem calls for following through on protecting the domestic industry from illegal practice, along with boosting their competitiveness.

He urged the government to raise customs duties on fully-manufactured chemical imports in line with the international standards.

During the first six months of 2018, exports of the Egyptian chemical industries sector rose by 26% year-on-year to $2.594 billion from $2.058 billion, according to the CFEC’ monthly bulletin.