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Exporting Chemical Industries: "European" cancels the suspension of the application of customs duties
The Chairman of the Export Council for Chemical Industries and Fertilizers, Khaled Abu Al-Makarem, announced the European Union’s approval of the Egyptian side’s request not to extend the implementation of the decision issued by the European Council on December 16, 2022, which stipulates suspending the application of customs duties on European imports of urea and ammonia from various countries of the world (except for Russia and Belarus).
The Chairman of the Export Council for Chemical Industries and Fertilizers, Khaled Abu Al-Makarem, announced the European Union’s approval of the Egyptian side’s request not to extend the implementation of the decision issued by the European Council on December 16, 2022, which stipulates suspending the application of customs duties on European imports of urea and ammonia from various countries of the world (except for Russia and Belarus). .
Abul-Makarem said - in a statement today, Thursday - that the European Union's decision was the culmination of the efforts made by the Council and the Commercial Representation Authority, who led a series of meetings with the European side, in which representatives of the concerned Egyptian companies participated.
He pointed out that a group of official correspondences were sent calling on the European Commission to cancel the extension of the decision and return to the usual customs fee of 5.5% for ammonia and 6.5% for urea from various countries of the world, and for the Egyptian product to continue to enjoy, of course, customs exemption.
He mentioned that the negotiations succeeded in presenting the Egyptian point of view scientifically, practically, practically and in numbers, adding that the negotiations were successful in proving the Egyptian point of view, as the negotiations proved that the European decision is not in favor of Egyptian exports of fertilizers; Because, based on the Egyptian-European partnership agreement signed between Egypt and the European Union in 2004, Egyptian exports of fertilizers are allowed to enter the European market free of customs duties, while the rest of the countries are subject to customs duties on fertilizer exports estimated at 5.5% for ammonia and 6.5% for euro.
Abul-Makarem noted that stopping the tide of the European decision to exempt imports of fertilizers from all countries will give Egypt a comparative advantage in dealing with the European market, which is the entry of Egyptian products without customs duties, which other countries bear at a rate of 5.5% for ammonia and 6.5% for urea.
The Council had conducted a survey of the opinion of the major Egyptian companies exporting urea and ammonia to the European market about the possibility of extending the implementation of European Council Decision No. 2465 of December 16, 2022 to suspend the application of customs duties on European imports of urea and ammonia from various countries of the world (except for Russia and Belarus) and the consequences. He has to reduce the market share of Egyptian companies in their exports to the European Union.
For his part, the Executive Director of the Council, Mohamed Majeed, explained that the Egyptian companies expressed their strong desire not to continue implementing the decision due to its negative impact on their exports and the reduction of their market share in the European Union markets, which led to their resorting to lowering their prices to continue to compete.
Majeed added that the commercial office in Brussels received a letter from the European Commission stressing the importance of Egyptian exports of urea and ammonia to the European Union markets.
It is worth noting that Egypt is the largest supplier of urea and the third largest supplier of ammonia to the European Union in 2022, and emphasizing the European Commission's aspiration for Egypt to remain an important and reliable source of fertilizers for the European Union.
Egyptian exports of fertilizers to the European Union are witnessing a remarkable increase, reaching about 1.8 billion euros in 2022, compared to 521.7 million euros in 2021, achieving an increase of 187.5%, which represents about 11% of total exports and about 19% of non-oil exports to the European Union. France came As the country importing the most fertilizers during 2022, with a value of about 375 million euros, followed by Italy with a value of 249 million euros, Spain with a value of 183 million euros, then Greece with a value of about 149 million euros, and Belgium with a value of about 97 million euros.
With regard to exports of items included in the European decision, exports to the European Union amounted to about 194 million euros for ammonia and about 1.62 billion euros for urea.