Good morning my dearfriends!
It is my great pleasureto meet you today. Tomorrow is the traditional Chinese festival---the SpringFestival. In this most important festival for the Chinese people, I believeEgyptian food will appear on the dinner table of many Chinese households. Inparticular, Egyptian fresh orange is known for its thin peel and juicy, sweet flavor,and thus has acquired huge popularity and a considerable market share in theChinese import market. It is no exaggeration to say that orange has becomeEgypt’s brand ambassador and kept regular presence on the table of Chinesefamilies. Egyptian fruits have witnessed the vigorous development ofSino-Egyptian trade, benefited from the huge potential of the Chinese market,and gave us full confidence in further promoting the food trade between our twocountries, especially Egypt’s exports to China. Here, I would like to thank ECSof the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Egypt and the Egyptian Food ExportAssociation and other relevant departments for keeping close ties with us withtremendous efforts to promote the healthy and rapid development of bilateral foodtrade. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief picture ofbilateral food trade and China's import market, and to share some prematurethoughts of expanding bilateral food trade for your reference.
1. Egypt's foodexports to China in 2020
Fruits take the lion’sshare of Egypt's food exports to China. Since 2019, fruithas become the second largest commodity category exported by Egypt to China,second only to oil and gas products. In 2020, China imported 110 million USdollars of Egyptian fruit, an increase of 423.8% compared with 2015. In 2020,Egypt has become China’s second largest source of imported fresh oranges andimported frozen strawberries. Egyptian fresh oranges and frozen strawberriesaccount for more than 20% and 35% of China’s import market; Egyptian fresh dates enjoy thefirst and only permission to export to China. Fruit trade has made importantcontribution to the economic growth of Egypt and the balanced development of bilateraltrade. It has also become Egypt’s beautiful "business card" for theChinese people to know and love Egypt.
The basic structureof China’s import of Egyptian food in 2020 are as follows:
The export of freshoranges to China was US$96 million, the export of frozen strawberries to Chinawas US$13 million, and the export of fresh grapes to China was US$447,800.
Other main importedfoods include: beet pulp US$24 million, crayfish US$534,400, sweetnon-alcoholic beverages US$243,300, fruit juice US$212,000, and natural honeyUS$198,600
The Chinesegovernment actively facilitates the export of Egyptian agricultural products toChina. At present, Egyptian fresh oranges, fresh grapes,fresh dates, and beet pulp have successfully entered the Chinese market, andrelated procedures for the export of pomegranates to China have also beeninitiated. China's market is open. The access of agricultural products is not atrade issue, but a technical issue. It is necessary for the Chinese side tofully investigate factors such as climate, diseases and insect pests. Allinspection and quarantine agencies in the world pursues very strict standardsand regulations in this regard. The Egyptian side can make application to theGeneral Administration of Customs of China (GACC) through its embassy in Chinafor the entry of other agricultural products with export potential, andcooperate with the Chinese side to complete related work , and strive topromote more high-quality Egyptian agricultural products into the Chinesemarket.
2. China's importedfood market
China's importedfood market is very huge. In 2019, more than 50% of Chinesehouseholds' imported food consumption accounted for more than 10% of total householdfood consumption. Statistics from the GACC show that in the past 10 years,China's imported food has grown at an average annual rate of 17.4%. Among them,imports of agricultural products have increased from US$11.4 billion in 2012 toUS$149.9 billion in 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 4.3%. China hasmaintained its status as the world's second largest importer of agriculturalproducts for eight consecutive years. Among China’s 17 major imported foodcategories, there are 6 categories with a year-on-year growth rate of more than20%. The top three categories are meat products, aquatic products, and dairyproducts. In 2020, the import of the three above categories has each exceeded10 billion US dollars, reaching 30.271 billion US dollars, 12.372 billion USdollars, 12.504 billion US dollars. Meat imports mainly come from Brazil,Spain, the United States, Argentina, and Australia; seafood imports mainly comefrom Russia, Ecuador, Vietnam, India, and Canada; dairy products imports mainlycome from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany. At present,Egyptian meat and dairy products have not yet obtained the qualification forexport to China.
The demand forhigh-quality fruits in the Chinese market has expanded rapidly. China is the world'slargest fruit consumer market and the world's second largest fruit importer, aswell as Egypt's fourth largest fruit export market. China's fruit import andexport trade is very vigorous, accounting for more than 6% of the global fruittrade. In 2019, China's fruit imports reached US$11.665 billion, a year-on-yearincrease of 34.36%. The top five imported fresh fruits in 2019 are cherries,durians, bananas, grapes and oranges. China’s middle class is growing fasterthan that of any other country in the world, with currently more than 400million people and has strong consumption power . The increasing demand forhealthy living will further strengthen the Chinese consumer’s pursuit forimport diversification and high-end quality. China's per capita fruitconsumption in 2019 was about 45.3 kg, and it is expected to double by 2024.Research shows that the most important concerns of Chinese consumers whenbuying imported food are safety, quality, taste, brand, and price (see chart).
Egyptian food facesfierce competition in the Chinese import market. In 2019, the totalvalue of China's fruit imports from Thailand, Chile, Vietnam and New Zealandreached 3.34 billion USD, 2.06 billion USD, 9.16 billion USD and 5.63 billion USD,respectively, representing a year-on-year increase of 71%, 19.1%, 6.8% and24.9%. In 2019, China imported 157 million US dollars of fruit from Egypt, anincrease of 80.86% year-on-year. In 2020, China’s imports of citrus fruit were US$492 million,of which South Africa was US$175 million, Egypt was US$96 million, Australiawas US$91 million, the US was US$48 million, and Peru was US$22 million. In2020, China’s imports of frozenstrawberries were US$38 million, of which Chile’s US$15 million. , Egypt 13 million U.S.dollars, Morocco 0.09 million U.S. dollars; in 2020, China imported 643 millionU.S. dollars of grapes, including Chile 260 million U.S. dollars, Australia 185million U.S. dollars, Peru 143 million U.S. dollars, Egypt 004 million U.S.dollars.
3. How does Egyptianfood enter the Chinese market?
Inspection andquarantine. Before exporting animal and plant products, theEgyptian government must submit an official application to the GeneralAdministration of Customs of China(GACC). GACC will first evaluate the foodsafety system and food safety status of the country and region, and determinethe corresponding inspection and quarantine standards. In addition, allimported food must comply with China's national food safety standards, and thecustoms will inspect imported food in accordance with relevant Chinese laws andregulations.
Register and file. Overseas productioncompanies that intend to export food to China need to register with the GACC,and relevant Chinese importers or agents need to file with GACC. The specificprocess is as follows: Egyptian production enterprises submit an applicationfor registration in China to the authorities of the Egyptian government, andthe Egyptian government will conduct item-by-item inspections in accordancewith China's registration standards and requirements, and recommend to the GACCafter confirming that they meet the requirements. The registration standardsand requirements are formulated by GACC and provided to the Egyptiangovernment. The registration validity period of an overseas productionenterprise of imported food is 5 years. An application for renewal ofregistration shall be submitted to GACC one year before expiration.
Marketing Platforms.The China International Import Expo(CIIE) is a high-end andeffective platform for Egyptian agricultural products to enter the Chinesemarket. It also plays a very important role in the rapid growth of Egyptianfruit exports to China in recent years. It is a major measure to implement China’sinitiative of“Belt and Road”, further open upthe market, and allow countries around the world to benefit from China’s development. Itprovides a valuable opportunity for Egyptian food to enter the Chinese market.The Egyptian side actively participated in the first two CIIEs. Among them, thefirst CIIE participated as the guest of honor. Prime Minister Madboulipersonally led a high-level delegation to China to participate in the firstCIIE. At the second CIIE, Egyptian companies signed intentional contracts ofmore than US$85 million, which was almost double that of the first session.Egyptian fruit exporters actively participated in the two CIIEs, and they camehere sincerely and returned with a rewarding outcomes.
(Attached with linksto the official websites of the General Administration of Customs, ChineseChamber of Commerce of I/E of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and AnimalBy-products, CIIE, Canton Fair)
4. Ending
At present, thecomprehensive strategic partnership between China and Egypt has reached a newhistorical height, and China has become Egypt's largest trading partner. Chinadoes not deliberately pursue a trade surplus, and sincerely hopes to work withEgypt to expand Egyptian food exports to China and promote the balanced developmentof bilateral trade.We hope Egyptian enterprises will make good use of tradepromotion platforms such as CIIE to explore the opportunities, building brandreputation, and tap the market potential. The Economic and Commercial Office ofthe Chinese Embassy in Egypt is willing to maintain close communication withthe Egyptian side and provide assistance to Egyptian enterprises within itscapacity.
