What Major Products Does Egypt Manufacture?
Major products that Egypt manufactures are textiles, food products, cement and other building materials, ceramics, paper products, furniture, pharmaceuticals, steel, iron, aluminum, automobiles, and oil-based products such as jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants, fuel oil and gasoline. Egypt’s largest share of manufacturing revenue comes from textiles and food products.
Manufacturing became one of the largest components of Egypt’s economy in the 20th century. By the 21st century, mining and manufacturing accounted for approximately one-fourth of Egypt’s gross domestic product.
Domestic manufacturing has increased significantly in Egypt since about 1930. This is due to the government’s efforts to promote Egyptian manufacturing by establishing a customs tariff on foreign goods. Additionally, the Bank of Egypt gave loans to domestic entrepreneurs to encourage Egyptian manufacturing. These measures brought rapid growth to Egypt’s manufacturing, beginning with companies engaging in printing, vegetable oil extraction, cotton ginning, spinning and weaving (linen, cotton, and silk), transportation, and production of rayon and pharmaceuticals. Egypt grew in textile production during World War II, due to the country being greatly disconnected from European imports.
Further growth in Egyptian manufacturing has occurred in automobile production and information technology in the 1990s, as well as computer software engineering and programming in the 2000s.
