Egypt’s engineering exports are eyeing a massive leap from USD 6.5 bn in 2025 to USD 13 bn by 2030, Engineering Export Council (EEC) Chairman Sherif El Sayyad said yesterday at a conference attended by EnterpriseAM. To get there, the council is betting on a 15% annual growth rate — which the sector nearly met last year with a 13% y-o-y uptick.

To get there, the ECC has a few ideas up its sleeve, including allowing freezone factories to trade rebates for rents. The council is currently lobbying the government to let manufacturers in freezones — who are currently ineligible for tax-offset incentives given to onshore exporters due to their unique tax status — credit these export subsidies directly against their General Authority for Investments and Freezones-mandated fees and rent.

Efforts will also be helped by a Made in Egypt brand incentive, with the export rebate program set to include an extra 1% for companies exporting under their own registered Egyptian trademarks to reward those moving away from low-margin white-labelling. To move beyond simple assembly, the council is also looking to attract foreign investment in critical production inputs, such as refrigerator compressors and EV motors.

Advanced talks are underway to establish a permanent logistics hub for Egyptian exports in Côte d’Ivoire, intended to serve as a gateway to West African markets.

The EEC is also looking West as far away as South America for export markets, with plans to launch its first exploratory trade mission to Brazil and Argentina in June. The move aims to capitalize on the Egypt-Mercosur Agreement, which is set to lower customs duties on most Egyptian engineering products to 0% by the end of 2026.

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