The volume of Egyptian exports has jumped rose 20 percent to 29 billion pounds ($5.1 billion) in the second quarter of 2010 compared to 24 billion in the same period of 2009, Minister of Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed said on Wednesday. Egypt's exports have been growing as the global economy recovers and the government says economic growth is likely to accelerate to 6.5 percent in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The increase proved that this sector has recovered from the impact of the world economic crisis, he said. The ministry seeks to push the exports to 200 billion pounds by 2013 in line with President Hosni Mubarak's directives, he added. The report said that Saudi Arabia came first among 10 countries receiving Egyptian exports. The Kingdom was the main recipient of non-oil goods from Egypt in the quarter with 2.7 billion pounds worth of imports, followed by the United States, whose non-oil imports were valued at 2.3 billion pounds, the ministry said in a statement. “The ministry is implementing a full-scale strategy to boost exports, including ... intensifying local production and other programmes to reduce transport costs of Egyptian goods to outside markets,” said Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid. Egypt aims to double non-oil and gas exports to 200 billion pounds from 95 billion pounds by 2013 in a bid to create more jobs, Rachid said last September. Moreover, the Suez Canal revenues hit $2.66 billion over the first seven months of 2010, marking an 11.5 percent rise in comparison with the same period in 2009, the Suez Canal Authority chairman said on Aug. 9, 2010. The total number of vessels transiting the international waterway increased by 18.8 percent over the past seven months in comparison with the corresponding period in 2009, Ahmed Fadel said. Suez Canal revenues in July posted $406.2 million, the highest monthly revenues since the international financial crisis. The July revenues rose by 6.1 percent in comparison with the revenues in the same month in 2009.
