Cairo -

Egypt's decision to stop the entry of the products of hundreds of Arab and international companies and factories and write them off due to what it considered to be its failure to register its factories to export their products to Egypt - sparked widespread controversy in the Egyptian markets;

This prompted the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to issue two successive statements to clarify the decision, its dimensions and purpose.

The General Authority for Export and Import Control of the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry recently published a list that includes preventing the products of hundreds of factories and brands from entering the Egyptian market for violating Ministerial Resolution No. 43, which stipulates the need to establish a register for factories and companies owning trademarks eligible to export products at the Control Authority. .

The list included - according to the authority's website - banning the products of many famous and multinational companies from countries such as Britain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, France, Jordan, Kuwait, China, Belgium, South Korea and others. , Hydra, Madar Chemicals, Venus Health More Industries, LG, and others.

Including the companies #Almarai and Mobaco for Industry and Trade and Al-Shaheen Furniture..The Export and Import Control Authority decides to ban entry of hundreds of trademarks “due to the expiration of the validity period specified for completing the renewal of registration documents” pic.twitter.com/Zfw32cJhCa

— Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) April 17, 2022

official clarifications

In an attempt to contain the controversy, the media center of the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry confirmed - in a statement today, Sunday - that “the decisions issued to stop or write off companies exporting to the Egyptian market do not target specific companies or the products of specific countries,” noting that “the decisions come in implementation of the rules regulating factory registration. the Export and Import Control Authority.

The ministry added that the companies that were suspended or written off did not meet the required documents, and some of them started production from inside the Egyptian market, explaining that the procedures start with a warning for two weeks, then the suspension for a year, followed by the write-off for lack of seriousness.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed that it will delete the names of companies that reconcile their positions on a regular basis from the suspension lists, noting that 122 companies have reconciled their positions since the beginning of this year until today, especially that the registration aims to facilitate procedures for companies.

The Egyptian Ministry of Trade says that some of these companies were suspended two years ago, as they established new factories in Egypt and no longer need to export their products to Egypt, and there are other companies bearing international brands that no longer export their products to the Egyptian market in light of the presence of branches of the company operating in the market Egyptian and owns more than 25 brands.

Second statement in hours

But it seems that the statement of the Ministry of Commerce was not enough, which prompted it to issue a second statement in less than hours, and the Saudi embassy in Cairo published it on its Twitter page, where the official spokesman for the Ministry of Trade and Industry denied issuing any restrictions to limit imports from Saudi companies.

The Spokesman affirmed that the economic and commercial relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are witnessing a remarkable development, in light of the brotherly and friendly relations that bind the leadership, government and peoples of the two brotherly countries.

The spokesman stressed the ministry's keenness to provide the necessary facilities to Saudi companies, whether investing or exporting to the Egyptian market, pointing out that the conditions of some Saudi companies are being reconciled in accordance with the rules for registering factories eligible for export to the Egyptian market.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry in #Egypt denies issuing any restrictions to limit #import from #Saudi_companies, and confirms its keenness to provide the necessary facilities for Saudi companies, whether investing or exporting to the Egyptian market.

https://t.co/LDvY8PoSy6

— Embassy in Cairo (@KSAembassyEG) April 17, 2022

What resolution 43?

Last March, the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry issued a decision to amend some provisions and provisions of Ministerial Resolution No. 43 of 2016 regarding amending the rules governing the registration of factories qualified to export their products to Egypt, noting that the decision comes within the framework of the state’s efforts to facilitate procedures for the business community and facilitate the movement of Import and Export.

The decision stipulated canceling the third paragraph of Article One of Resolution 43, which stipulated that “the registration in this register or the removal from it shall be issued by a decision of the minister concerned with foreign trade, and he may be exempted from any or all of the registration requirements in the cases he determines.”

The Egyptian Ministry of Trade says that the decision aims to facilitate procedures for companies and set a specific time for registration, and according to the decision, companies wishing to export to Egypt must renew documents that have a validity date within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of expiry.

Meanwhile, an official source at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed - in press statements to Al Mal newspaper - that the decision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to stop importing from some international companies is a normal and temporary procedure to fulfill some documents and requirements specified by Resolution No. 43 of 2016.

The controversy moved to social networking sites after the decision to stop exporting hundreds of famous products to the country, amid questions about the goals of the decision and its relationship to the dollar crisis in the country, or the attempt to reduce the import bill to save foreign exchange, or to encourage the local product.

1000 Egyptian brands stopped importing them from 144 companies, including


Lipton tea, Dove cream, Close-up toothpaste, Signal, Axe, Persil, Lifebuoy, Fashilin, Rexona, Omo, Lux soap, juices, Almarai milk, Red Bull and Suntop juice


, except for what is produced inside Egypt in their factories,


a right decision to rationalize the spending of the dollar and consumption

— Iman Elnahas (@imanahas) April 17, 2022

The importer of it does not constitute 5% of the market..


A member of the Food Division of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce says that the decision to stop importing products such as Almarai Company, Lipton and Rexona will not affect the Egyptian market, given that all these products are manufactured in #Egypt pic.twitter.com/RAP7FIB74Q

— Monitor Network (@RassdNewsN) April 17, 2022