CAIRO: The exports of furniture sector have reached around 2.6 billion Egyptian pounds (US$332 million) in 2015 versus 2.5 billion in 2014, marking a modest growth of 6 percent.
Chairman of the Egyptian Furniture Export Council Ihab Derias told Amwal Al Ghad Sunday that Saudi Arabia has seized 34.8 percent of Egypt’s furniture exports with 924 million pounds.
Following Saudi Arabia, UAE was the second largest importer of the Egyptian furniture with imports estimated at 402 million pounds then Qatar whose imports are worth 218 million pounds and Iraq with imports estimated at 198 million pounds.
He noted that the sector is not expected to achieve the targeted growth rate of 15-20 percent annually due to a number of problems notably the severe economic crisis that hit Gulf markets. Chairman Derias added that the growth rate of sector’s exports will decrease due to the decline in oil prices in addition to the internal problems.
