THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS ON THE EGYPTIAN AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN TRADE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION

Document Type : Research articles.

Author

Res. Agricultural Economics Res. Instit., Agric.Res.Center

Abstract

This research aims mainly to identify the implications of the global
financial and economic crisis on the Egyptian foreign trade and agricultural
foreign trade with the European Union in general and the major Egyptian
agricultural exports to the EU in particular. The research indicates that the
coverage rate of exports to imports has declined to about 46.2% in 2008 and
so the deficit in Egyptian trade balance has increased by approximately
59.3% to almost 16.5 billion euros in the same year. It indicates also that the
coverage rate of agricultural exports to agricultural imports has declined to
approximately 26.5% in 2008 and so the deficit in Egyptian agricultural trade
balance has increased by approximately 74.4% to about 4.32 billion euros in
the same year. The research shows that the coverage rate of exports to
imports with the EU has declined to about 63.6% in 2008 and so the deficit in
Egyptian trade balance with the EU has increased by about 62.2% to about
4.64 billion euros in the same year. It shows also that the coverage rate of
agricultural exports to agricultural imports with the EU has declined to about
12% in 2008 and so the deficit in Egyptian agricultural trade balance with the
EU has increased by approximately 93.9% to reach nearly 218 million euros
in the same year, which reflects the negative impact of the global financial
and economic crisis on the Egyptian trade balance and agricultural trade
balance with world as well as with the EU. The research refers to increase the
amounts and the values of the Egyptian exports of potatoes, grapes and
oranges after the global financial and economic crisis, which reflects the
absence of a negative effect of it on those exports. The research results show
that there is no negative effect of the global financial and economic crisis on
the comparative advantage of Egypt's export of potatoes, grapes and oranges
to the EU where the value of the Export Specialization Index of each of those
exports is more than the unit before the crisis and after it. They show also the
increase of the market share of Egyptian exports of potatoes in the EU
despite the global financial and economic crisis, which reduces the negative
impact of the crisis on those exports which is the decrease of external
demand for the European Union on potatoes reflected in the decrease of the
amount of Egyptian potatoes exports to the European Union. The research
shows increasing of the amounts and the values of the Egyptian exports of
grapes and oranges to the EU, after the crisis, as well as growing market
shares of those exports in the European Union during the periods having the
Egyptian crop of those exports. The study recommends the need to adapt an
agricultural economic policy include mechanisms and measures to address
the economic crises when they occur in order to take prompt action to
mitigate the effects and consequences of this crisis, as well as the need to
reduce the geographic and commodity concentration for Egyptian agricultural
exports which result in instability of the returns of those exports and its
vulnerability to economic crises, and the need to strengthen the
competitiveness of Egyptian agricultural exports and create new market
opportunities in foreign markets, as well as the need to provide technical
support to farmers to produce crops in conformity with the health and
environmental standards to facilitate the penetration of global markets , in
addition to that Egypt must negotiate with the EU on increasing the tariff
quotas for the major Egyptian agricultural exports as well as modifying their
export seasons to be consistent with their productive seasons in Egypt .


Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics