Cairo – Mubasher: The Amsterdam-based Philips’ unit in Egypt produces 2 million lamps a year in a bid to meet the demand of the domestic market and aims to double production to reach 4 million lamps in a year-and-a-half period.
The health technology company has officially started the production of luminaries locally, while the output of lamps will begin within the few next days, trade minister Amr Nassar said in a statement on Sunday.
The Dutch firm will export nearly 140,000 luminaries to the Turkish market this year, the minister highlighted, adding that the company will also export some of its products to Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
He stressed that Egypt should benefit from its free-trade agreements with the Arab and African countries, particularly Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) agreement and the Agadir Agreement.
This came on the sidelines of a meeting between the trade minister, investment minister Sahar Nasr and the representatives of Philips Egypt to discuss the production of lighting solutions in the North African nation.
The Egyptian unit is also looking to expand in Africa by exporting its products to a number of the main African markets in western and eastern Africa, Nassar emphasised.
He pointed out that Egyptian products have the opportunity to enter the markets of Iraq, Syria, and Libya within the framework of reconstruction projects.
For his part, executive vice president of Philips Africa Tamer Abu El Ghar said that the company is looking forward to expanding in the Egyptian market and boosting production rates in an effort to meet the huge demand, noting that the local market consumes around 25 lamps per year.
Philips Egypt aims to acquire up to a 15% stake in the Egyptian market within the next three years to increase to 25% in five years, El Ghar highlighted.
The lighting solutions' provider also seeks to export to overseas markets, mainly the African markets and the surrounding countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
