Egypt-Italy Ro-Ro Line: A New Gateway for Agricultural Exports

Updated 12/7/2024 9:00:00 AM

Egypt recently launched the Egyptian-Italian Ro-Ro shipping line, with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inaugurating its first voyage. The Ro-Ro line boosts Egypt’s logistic capabilities, reinforcing its role in connecting Europe to Africa. This would enhance trade opportunities for the African country and support its agricultural exports by facilitating access to European markets. The line also serves as a step for Egypt to become a regional hub for logistics and transit trade.

In this Factsheet, we will explore the Egyptian-Italian partnership for establishing the Ro-Ro line and understand its importance in boosting Egypt’s agricultural exports. Moreover, we will highlight the presence of Egyptian agricultural exports in the European markets.

In January 2024, Egypt and Italy signed an agreement to establish the roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) cargo transport system. The line links Damietta Port in Egypt to Trieste Port in Italy and has a weekly capacity of 420 trucks.
The line forms a green corridor between Egypt and Italy, utilizing refrigerated and dry trucks for transporting goods. Vehicles such as cars and tractors can roll on and off the Ro-Ro ships on their wheels, eliminating the need for cranes.
The line primarily focuses on transporting agricultural perishable products, including fruits, to Italy and other European markets. It also offers low shipping prices and short shipping times.
The line provides several benefits for Egypt, including reducing the shipping time to two and a half days instead of six days. Moreover, the project is expected to create over 2,000 jobs for Egyptian truck drivers and opportunities for administrative staff in transport, shipping, and maritime agencies. It is also projected to increase container movement between Mediterranean ports by 3.5% annually through 2027.
To facilitate operations, Egypt slashed Damietta Port’s fees by 88%, with similar reductions expected at Trieste Port. Additionally, transit fees were lowered to just $100 per shipment, instead of $300 for inbound shipments and $350 for outbound shipments.
Egyptian agricultural exports are projected to greatly benefit from improved access to the European market via the line. Generally, the European Union (EU) and the UK are key markets for Egypt’s agricultural products.
In 2023, Egypt exported $992 million worth of agricultural products to the EU. The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany were the top importers from Egypt, with shares of 28%, 13%, and 11%, respectively.
The EU members imported oranges worth $215.2 million, potatoes at $149.1 million, and grapes valued at $142 million.
As for the UK, Egypt exported agricultural products worth $198 million in 2023. The key exports were strawberries, grapes, and sweet potatoes at a value of $43 million, $42 million, and $22 million, respectively.

By: Amina Hussein