Nadim Elias, Chairman of Egypt’s Export Council for Printing and Packaging, says that there has been a massive price hike of imported printing and writing papers in the past two years, from $600 per ton to $1,400 per ton, an increase by a whopping 250%, which has impacted the local and global markets.
Elias stated that the African market is in need of educational books and may enter into a financial agreement with the World Bank. Though many European publishers sell these books to African countries, Egypt’s opportunity to export printed books is greater than Europe. He also said that countries like China and India are doing well in the African market due to their low cost.
“If we can provide quality at a good price, we can garner huge export orders,” feels Elias. While Europe’s print exports is worth $5 billion, China has over $2 billion and India between $1-2 billion. Comparatively, Egypt’s export share of printed books is between $10-15 million.
Elias also insisted on strengthening several related aspects to increase print exports. Production lines must be modernized to provide quality on par with international printing and finishing standards. Focus on export support is another area as it helps companies manage and widen their scope for marketing. He also spoke on ways to increase production efficiency by increasing productivity amongst the technically qualified workforce.
Labour laws in Egypt has set long days of vacation off work and these laws must be utilized to the maximum to increase productivity.
