The Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade will sign a private trade agreement with Russia by mid-September , according to Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour.
"Abdel Nour, will start a visit to Russia this week. The agreement includes terms and conditions that obligate the two parties to ensure the entry of Egyptian exports of agricultural products and food industries to the Russian market," Abdel-Nour added..
The move comes as Russia seeks new supply sources after it banned most food imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway last month in retaliation for Western sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
"Egypt has already increased [agricultural] supplies to our market by 30 percent [and] is ready to increase [supplies] by yet another 30 percent in the near future," Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last month.
Trade between Egypt and Russia amounted to US$3 billion in 2013, according to Abdel-Nour.
Egyptian exports to Russia increased by 27.6 percent to $454 million during the period from January –June 2014 compared to $355.8 million during the same period in 2013.
Last year, Russia imported $17.2 billion worth of food from the countries covered by the sanctions, of which $9.2 billion was in the affected categories, according to the International Trade Center, a joint venture of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
