Abdul Moneim Mustafa, a Saudi businessman and importer, said Saudi investors have been closely following developments in Egypt and are now assured that matters are improving.
“There are about 800 Saudi establishments with investments in Egypt amounting to more than 7 billion Egyptian pounds,” said Mustafa, adding that Saudi businessmen import wheat, sugar, oil, vegetables and fruit from Egypt.
The uprising in Egypt has been causing global economic jitters.
There have been concerns among consumers in the Kingdom that a protracted political crisis in Egypt, which is an important source for agricultural produce, would affect the movement of goods between the two countries and result in huge price increases locally.
Meanwhile, Suleiman Al-Tuwaijri, director general of Customs at the Jeddah Islamic Port, said importers who delay in clearing their consignments from Egypt will not be issued the normal penalties.
He said importers are currently not required to show original Egyptian documents, which are difficult to obtain due to the situation in Egypt.
“The importers can only present photocopies or faxed copies to collect Egyptian goods, but they will have to take a pledge that they will present the original bills within three months,” Al-Tuwaijri said.
The new rules come after many Saudi importers asked for their consignments from Egypt to be cleared from customs without being subjected to the old formalities of showing original documents.
According to official statistics for 2010, Saudi exports to Egypt amounted to SR8.3 billion constituting 1.6 percent of all Saudi exports, making Egypt the 20th country in the list of top countries to which the Kingdom exports goods.
The statistics also show that Saudi Arabia was the 16th country on the list of top importers from Egypt with imports amounting to about SR5.3 billion. There is a surplus of SR2.9 billion in favor of the Kingdom in the balance of trade between the two countries, the statistics show.
