1 Market Potential for Other Manufacturing Products

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1 1 Market Potential for Other Manufacturing Products Mauritius is not exporting much of the non-agro-non-textile Manufacturing products to Egypt. The market survey has revealed that Catheters have good potential to penetrate the Egyptian market and medical agents are keen to test the market. The Mauritian supplier of Cathether is advised to work with an agent who will be the ambassador for the Mauritian product among a network of medical agents in Egypt in order to target the users directly such as cardiologists, urologists, etc. It is to be noted that catheters would need to go through a registration process before they can be imported in Egypt that may take 6-12 months. The packaging of Mauritian shower gel and hand wash, is of good quality and have good potential to appeal to Egyptians but prices need to be revised downward. Natural beauty products are widely demanded in Egypt. However, the prices of bio-products were deemed to be in general expensive and the packaging not attractive enough. The samples of cosmetics and perfumes have no market potential in Egypt. Leather shoes, safety shoes, leather belts and leather handbags were found to be too expensive in most cases and many Egyptian importers have made the comment that Mauritian manufacturers are not using the latest technology and design unlike Egyptian manufacturers. Sunglasses were seen as being too expensive and not trendy enough. Market Survey Egypt 1 Jan 2013

2 Other products with no potential are paints and varnishes, electrical cables, printing of product packaging, labels and articles of plastics. These products are manufactured locally and only the raw materials are imported. Moreover sanitary towel have no potential as the samples we have shown them are considered of poor quality. 2 Market Overview The main sourcing markets are: Medicines: Germany, UK and France. Instruments and appliances for medical or veterinary sciences: China, Germany and Korea. Beauty or make up preparation: Germany and France. Articles for conveyance or packing of goods: China and also made in Egypt. Carton boxes are from China and also made in Egypt while articles of plastic are made in Egypt. The Key Success Factors for an imported product to compete in the market are: Effectiveness of medicines Availability Good advertising Suitable prices Good design Good quality & Easiness of usage. Market Survey Egypt 2 Jan 2013

3 Overall sample evaluation by importers Overall Evaluation Medical instruments Stent catheter Overall Evaluation Fertilizers Market Survey Egypt 3 Jan 2013

4 Duties on selected products Market Survey Egypt 4 Jan 2013

5 3 Market Testing for Other Manufacturing Products 3.0 VIP International Freight Forwarding Ltd Co Cosmetics, Shower Gel and Deodorants VIP International Freight Forwarding Ltd Co imports computer accessories, mobile accessories, and cotton yarn from China. It also imports cosmetics from Morocco. The company was approached in view of its interest to import cosmetics from Mauritius, including deodorants and shower gels. According to the Managing Director, Mr Mohamed Ahmed Saeed, the most important criteria he considers are suitable price, high quality, trust and on-time delivery. He stated that for Mauritian cosmetics to compete effectively on the market the following should be satisfied: 1) Expiry date should be more than one year; 2) Products should be of soft texture and not greasy; and 3) Products should be concentrated with natural ingredients and be of high quality According to Mr Saeed, the fact that the cosmetics are natural represents an advantage as customers are conscious about their skin and prefer bio products to a large extent as opposed to chemical ones. However, as Egyptian consumers are more familiar with cosmetics from Morocco, awareness creation about Mauritian cosmetic products will be required. The shower gel, for its part, presented numerous advantages such as its colourful packaging, its good smell and the fact that the product flows easily out of the bottle. However, the main disadvantage is the price which is deemed to be too high and same as well-known international brands like Dove, that is, 6 LE. To compete effectively, price would need to be reduced so as to entice consumers to give it a try. Market Survey Egypt 5 Jan 2013

6 The deodorants were appreciated for the fact that they smell good and fresh. The perfumes, with their vibrant colours, were seen to be appealing and would therefore be readily accepted by Egyptian consumers. Like the shower gel however, the prices of the deodorants were found to be too high. 3.1 M.D For Medical Supplies Catheters M.D For Medical Supplies imports neurological and cardiological equipments from various countries such as the US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, England and Switzerland. The company was contacted as it is interested to source catheters from Mauritius. For the Registration and Import Manager, Mr Mohamed Abdel Hady, the two most important criteria when importing catheters are that they need to be FDA and CE approved (i.e approved by both the Federal Drug Administration body in US and Communauté Européenne in Europe) and be of good quality. To compete in the Egyptian market, catheters from Mauritius should be of good quality, cheap, available on the market and well known as physicians tend to be very choosy. The major obstacle that the Mauritian catheters therefore face is that Mauritius is not known as a destination for catheters and it will take time to convince physicians to use it. 3.2 Egy Cath Medical Catheters Egy Cath Medical is specialised in the importation of ICU equipment from Italy and USA. It also imports catheters from Poland and Switzerland. Dr Mamdouh Amin, Managing Director of the company was approached to gauge his interest in importing Catheters from Mauritius. According to him, the criteria he seeks in considering a supplier are reputation and experience. The catheters should also be backed by studies that certify their viability. To be able to compete effectively on the Egyptian market, the catheters should be of good quality, affordable and have a well-known brand. He sourced catheters for LE 900 while the Mauritian offer is cheaper. Dr Amin is considering seriously importing catheters from Mauritius. However, before he may do so, he will first need to register the catheters with the Ministry of Health in Egypt and Market Survey Egypt 6 Jan 2013

7 submit all documents required, including the CE and FDA certificates of the exporter. procedure may take up to six months to a year. This 3.3 Gama For Optics Gama For Optics is specialised in the importation of both dressing gowns and lens glasses from Italy, France and Korea. An interview was secured with the Managing Director, Mr Fayez and his brother, so as to present Mauritian sunglasses. According to him, it is important that the exporters offer suitable prices and not be late in delivery orders. Moreover, to be able to compete effectively on the Egyptian market the sunglasses would have to be reasonably priced, be of good quality and have good designs. Mauritian Sunglasses In evaluating the Mauritian sunglasses, Mr Fayez found the prices expensive, the design oldfashioned and the brand not well-known. The maximum price he is willing to pay for the sunglasses is USD3 so that he may sell it for 25 LE on the Egyptian market. 3.4 Hamis For Import and Export Sunglasses Sunglasses were also presented to Mr Fayz of Hamis For Import and Export. According to him, they are too expensive as right now, he is importing similar ones from China for only USD 10, which are very good quality imitation of high branded sunglasses like DG, Police, Ray-Ban. To be able to compete with medium quality sunglasses which are being sold in the range of LE , the sunglasses from Mauritius would need to be of high quality with appealing designs. Moreover, as the Mauritian brand is not known in Egypt, awareness of the brand would need to be created through advertising. Market Survey Egypt 7 Jan 2013

8 3.5 ET Logistics ET Logistics is a big importer of various products such as leather, glasses, foodstuffs (including noodles), electrical cables, electrical appliances and used heavy machines, which are sourced mainly from China, Korea, Italy and Thailand. It is also the owner of famous retail stores like Club Aldo in Egypt. Apart from sourcing for its own stores, the company also imports for high-fashion stores like Tatatio and Source. When presented the leather products the Executive Director, Mrs Reham Nafie, gave a high rating of 8 out of 10. The design and natural leather composition of the leather handbags make them appealing to the Egyptian market. Although the price was found to be too expensive, the importer is still interested to see more leather handbag products and to obtain price quotations. 3.6 Drake Store Drake Store has 40 retail stores in Egypt. It is also present in China and has plans to open up a new store in New York, USA. The company currently imports leather products, scarves, gifts and fashion accessories from China. As the company s slogan is Fashion doesn t need money, it strives to lower its costs so as to be able to offer competitive prices to its customers. Thus, in regards to shoes and bags, the company chooses to import all the raw materials from China even though these are available locally because China is far cheaper than local companies. It is to ne noted that the one metre of genuine leather is USD 20 and USD 6 for semi leather. Out of 1 metre he gets 10 pairs of shoes. Average price of production of leather is USD 2 and semi is USD 0.6. The shoes and bags are then manufactured locally according to the Egyptian style. Leather products such as belts and handbags were presented to the Managing Director, Mr Mohammed Elmaghraby. According to him, the products are too expensive. For instance, the leather belt from Mauritius costs USD 6 while the same one from Egypt is only USD 3. In line with its policy to offer cheap products to its customers, Drake Store is not interested to source any leather products from Mauritius. The new Egyptian generation does not make any difference between genuine and synthetic leather, Market Survey Egypt 8 Jan 2013

9 In his stores, 50% of products displayed are sourced from China and 50% produced in Egypt, with raw materials from China. He mentioned that Egypt has very close business ties with China since they have been working with China for decades. Thus, Egyptian importers benefit from incentives provided by Chinese suppliers such as extended period of credit as long as 3-6 months even for transactions worth more than USD 10 million. Mr Elmaghraby mentioned that the Chinese have a centralised system for capturing all trading transactions with the rest of the world. This data is captured on a website called qq and which gives the trading history and credibility of all importers. 3.7 Middle East Pharmaceuticals Middle East Pharmaceuticals import all materials to produce cosmetics products. They import from India, China, EU and USA. India and China remain cheaper sourcing markets for the company but when these two countries are out of stock, Middle East Pharmaceuticals import from EU and USA. They are going to manufacture 51 new product lines during year When Dr Hossam saw the Mauritian samples of cosmetics, his spontaneous views were that the packaging does not reflect high quality and such packaging will not be accepted at all by the Egyptian market. Hand Washing Liquid, Shampoo and Shower Gel The Mauritian shower gel is considered very expensive. The retail price in supermarkets of similar size shower gel is sold at less than LE 10 (MUR 65) while the FOB price is USD 1.61, that is MUR The retail price of similar size of Hand Wash in Egypt is sold at less than LE 7 (MUR 45.5) in supermarkets while the Mauritian FOB price is USD 1.38 (MUR 41.40). Deodorants The Mauritian deodorants has very good look and will definitely appeal to the Egyptian market but it is above the market price. Market Survey Egypt 9 Jan 2013