Business News
EU, Egypt agree on agricultural trade liberalization
By DPA
Jul 4, 2008, 13:50 GMT

Brussels - The European Union and Egypt have agreed on liberalizing their trade in agricultural and fish products, officials in Brussels said Friday.

Negotiators reached 'preliminary agreement' that the EU should have free access to Egypt's market for around 90 per cent of its agriculture and fisheries exports, while around 70 per cent of Egyptian products would be open to the EU, officials said.

EU products which will still have limited access to Egyptian markets include tobacco and alcohol products, and pig meat. Egyptian products with limited access to the EU market include tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, courgettes, grapes, garlic, strawberries, rice and sugar, and processed tuna and sardines.

The agreement was initialled on Tuesday in Marseilles and is expected to form the basis of a future binding deal, officials said.