Food Processing Export Strategy
Preliminary Review
Working Document
Not for Circulation
Project: Trade Enhancement Programme A
(TEP-A Lot 2, Comp 4)
Assignment: 4.15.3 Policy and Capacity Building:
Food Processing Export Council
Author: Paul Baker
Date: March 2007
Disclaimer: The views and propositions expressed herein are those of the expert (Paul Baker)
and do not necessarily represent any official view of the European Commission or any other
organisations mentioned in the Report
Export Strategy for Processed Food - Review
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Preface
This report has been produced as part of an assignment to support capacity building of
the Food Processing Export Council (FPEC) in order to ensure that the Council is able to
perform and act as a qualified partner for the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI),
representing and serving the development of the Egyptian food processing (EFP) sector.
The report concerns Task 4 of the assignment, which has as its objective:
Check the FP Export Strategy and draft an Export Plan listing and prioritizing
objectives, activities and suggesting stakeholders’ contributions.
Under the terms of reference (ToR) for the assignment, the activities for Task 4 include:
Overview the sector situation (markets, used technologies, human resources,
financial data, etc.)
Check the coherence and consistency of the policies set out in the Export Strategy
and designed to improve the FP sector’s export performance (e.g. marketing,
investment, training and skill development needs etc.)
Outline recommendations for improvement
Propose a matrix with priorities, objectives, activities, needed resources, expected
results, and actions to be undertaken by the public and/or private sectors to achieve
export development goals
Suggest organisational structure (role and responsibilities) to ensure adequate
implementation of activities
Identify a set of activities to be undertaken by the FPEC
Draft a specific action plan for the FPEC activities with time table, with needed
resources, and key performance indicators
Propose a control mechanism to verify operational advancement
On the basis of the above ToR, the consultant undertook a review of the Food
Processing Export Strategy1, and the main findings are documented in Section 1 of this
report.
On the basis of the findings from the review of the Food Processing Export Strategy, and
in consultation with the beneficiary (i.e. FPEC), a revised programme of support
activities were agreed. These are outlined in Section 2 of this report.
1 “Food Export Strategy Study – PS137 – Final Report”, STEM-VCR, May 2006
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Table of Contents
1. Summary of the Food Processing Export Strategy................................................ 1
1.1. Overview of export strategy development.............................................................. 1
1.2. General approach of strategy development studies .............................................. 1
1.3. Overall assessment of current situation and future export potential...................... 2
1.4. SWOT analysis ....................................................................................................... 2
1.5. Main conclusions and strategy recommendations ................................................. 7
1.6. Main identified ‘action areas’ .................................................................................. 8
1.7. Outline action plans .............................................................................................. 10
1.8. Comments and conclusions ................................................................................. 11
1.8.1. Structure and focus of the Food Export Strategy Report............................... 11
1.8.2. Overall evaluation and identified key issues .................................................. 11
1.8.3. Final remarks .................................................................................................. 15
2. Outline revised programme of support activities.................................................. 17
2.1. Overview ............................................................................................................... 17
2.2. Detailed sub-sector action plan: ‘olive oil’ ............................................................ 17
2.3. New product development action plan: ‘dried fruits’ ............................................ 18
2.4. FDI attraction for the food processing sector ....................................................... 18
2.5. Relationship between revised support programme and assignment activities.... 19
Appendix 1 EFPS Export Strategy – Action Plans ...................................................... 21
Appendix 2 Strategy development framework............................................................. 23
Appendix 3 Extracts from Business Today Egypt ....................................................... 26
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Index of Tables
Table 1 Identified EFPS ‘strengths’ and recent changes ............................................ 4
Table 2 Identified EFPS ‘weaknesses’ and recent changes ....................................... 5
Table 3 Identified EFPS export ‘opportunities’ ............................................................ 6
Table 4 Identified EFPS export ‘threats’ ...................................................................... 7
Table 5 Export Strategy: general policy and ‘multi-sector’ action areas..................... 9
Table 6 Export Strategy: sector orientated and intra-industry action areas.............. 10
Table 7 Overview of correspondence between activities.......................................... 20
Index of Figures
Figure 1 Strategy development framework................................................................. 25
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List of Acronyms
CAP Common Agricultural Policy (European Union)
EFPS Egyptian Food Processing Sector
EGP Egyptian Pound
ESR Export Strategy Report (“Food Export Strategy Study – PS137 – Final
Report”, STEM-VCR, May 2006, for IMC)
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FP Food Processing
FPI Food Processing Industry
FPEC Food Processing Export Council
FSR Food Sector Review (“Egyptian Processed Food Sector Review – Final
Report” ECORYS-NEI, May 2005, for IMC)
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council
IMC Industrial Modernisation Centre
MTI Ministry of Trade and Industry
SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
TEP-A Trade Enhancement Programme A
ToR Terms of Reference
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1
1. Summary of the Food Processing Export Strategy
This section provides a brief summary of the current status of the Egyptian Food
Processing Sector (EFPS) Export Strategy, its development and methodological
approach, together with main conclusions and recommendations.
1.1. Overview of export strategy development
The most recent attempt to define an export strategy for the food processing sector is
set out in a report for IMC: “Food Export Strategy Report” (May 2006)2. This study built
upon an earlier report for IMC: “Egyptian Processed Food Sector Review” (May 2005)3,
which had a somewhat broader scope but that, nonetheless, gave particular emphasis to
enhancing export performance4. These two documents provide the basis for articulating
the ‘current’ export strategy for the food processing sector5.
It should be noted, however, that the two studies/documents are consultants’ reports
rather than a strategy for enhancing export performance developed and adopted by the
national government or the industry itself. Notwithstanding the support that may exist
among the relevant stakeholders and authorities for the objectives and
recommendations set out in these reports, it would be inaccurate to describe them
representing the ‘official’ export strategy for the food processing sector.
1.2. General approach of strategy development studies
The two aforementioned reports are broadly similar in their approach and overall
structures, with each providing:
Global assessment: demand-side and supply-side factors shaping development,
global trade environment, and regulatory environment;
Local assessment: production and trade (export) performance, demand-side and
supply-side factors shaping development, trade environment, regulatory
environment;
Benchmarking analysis: with comparisons of Egyptian situation for key
performance indicators, and for key product categories against important competitor
and sector ‘best performer’ countries;
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and conclusions;
Strategy recommendations: for enhancing (export) performance.
The reports provide a considerable volume of analysis of both global developments in
the food processing sector and of the current situation of the sector in Egypt. In fact, one
major contribution of the studies is to bring together information from disparate source in
