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The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is considering excluding Egyptian oil exports from its free-trade agreement in the coming period, a move that would mean imposing a 25% tariff after they had previously enjoyed full exemption, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to Al-Shorouk.
The source, who asked not to be named, explained that some member states believe the local-content ratio in Egyptian oil exports falls below 35%, which would breach the terms of the agreement between Egypt and other COMESA members.
The source noted that four major companies operate in the domestic market and export their products to COMESA countries, warning that if the tariffs are imposed, these firms would lose market share to Turkish competitors, which benefit from lower production costs.
According to data from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt's exports of vegetable and animal oils and fats fell by 13.4% year-on-year during the first five months of 2025, reaching $68.54 million compared with $79.19 million in the same period last year.
COMESA member states plan to send a technical committee within the coming weeks to visit local companies and verify the local-content ratios in exported products, the source said.
The source affirmed that the local-content ratio in cooking oil exports exceeds 35%, despite Egypt's reliance on imported crude oil to meet domestic demand, explaining that imports are limited to crude oil only, while refining, filling and packaging take place within Egypt, in addition to transport costs and labour wages. He added: "I expect COMESA to back down from the decision once the technical committee confirms that Egyptian companies are complying with the terms of the agreement."
It is worth noting that Egypt relies on imports for around 97% of its annual vegetable oil needs, according to previous statements by Zakaria El-Shafei, head of the Oils Division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries.
For his part, Mohamed El-Bahy, head of the Customs and Taxes Committee at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said such measures are routine and occur periodically across several sectors, not just oils.
El-Bahy explained that some companies may overstate transport costs and labour wages in order to demonstrate that the local-content ratio in a product exceeds 35% on the certificate of origin required for export, which sometimes prompts member states to raise doubts and send technical committees to review the ratio and apply the principle of reciprocity.
It should be noted that COMESA is a trade agreement among East and Southern African countries comprising 21 member states, which Egypt joined in 1998. Reciprocal customs exemptions began to be applied from February 1999 for goods accompanied by certificates of origin approved by the relevant authorities in each country.
Under the agreement, all Egyptian exports to member states are exempt from customs duties and similar taxes, in line with the reduction rates set by each country and based on the principle of reciprocity.
Source: Al-Shorouk