Cairo, Egypt - Recent

Storyline:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Egypt, with agriculture being the third largest sector of the national economy, has taken steps to support the expansion of its agricultural exports to more countries.

Agriculture is also Egypt's second largest export sector, with fresh and processed products earning the country 9 billion U.S. dollars last year, about 25 percent of the country's total non-oil exports.

In recent years, Egypt has opened new markets for exports, including commodities, to increase its foreign exchange resources. The North African country exported its products to 160 markets in 2023, up from 67 a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2024, the country exported more than 2.2 million tons of agricultural products worth 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Tarek Abdel Hakim, operations manager of the Egyptian Agricultural Services and Trade Group, said agribusinesses like his are proactively working to expand exports.

Hakim also said the government is introducing new standards for exports to meet the admission of more countries and increase competitiveness.

"The ministry of agriculture and other state institutions applied new quality control mechanisms to oversee proper cultivation, production, transport and packaging of products according to international standards that guarantee our goods are approved in foreign markets," he said.

Analysts said Egypt has recently focused on boosting exports to increase its hard currency reserves, which have dwindled in recent years, and improve food security.

Shotlist:
Cairo, Egypt - Recent:
1. Various of workshop, workers selecting, packaging potatoes;
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed in English) Tarek Abdel Hakim, operations manager, Egyptian Agriculture Services and Trade Group (starting with shot 1/partially overlaid with shot 3):
"This is an expansion strategy to new markets also with new products like carrots, sweet potatoes, grapes, new types of citrus fruits and frozen products according to the client demand. We are sending to new markets in the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Southeast Asia."
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3. Various of workshop, workers selecting, packaging potatoes
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4. Various of workshop, workers selecting, packaging potatoes
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed in English) Tarek Abdel Hakim, operations manager, Egyptian Agriculture Services and Trade Group (starting with shot 4/partially overlaid with shot 6):
"The ministry of agriculture and other state institutions applied new quality control mechanisms to oversee proper cultivation, production, transport and packaging of products according to international standards that guarantee our goods are approved in foreign markets."
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
6. Various of workshop, workers selecting, packaging potatoes
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7. Aerial shots of machinery on farmland;
8. Various of people picking oranges
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed in Engli;sh) Karim Adel, president, El Adl Center for Strategic Studies (starting with shot 8/ending with shot 10):
"Agricultural exports will not only raise hard currency revenue and reduce import bills, but will also mean more food production that would [enable us to] achieve the crucial food security targets and become self-sufficient [in food]."
10. Forklift loading;
11. Aerial shot of farmland;
12. Various of harvesting, packaging potatoes.

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