Last month, our sample box to Egypt sat at Cairo airport for 17 days. That was not slow clearance; since September, courier and e-commerce parcels fall under ACI pre-registration, and cargo without an ACID number goes to the bottom.
Before shipping, get an ACID issued by the Egyptian receiver and link it to the airway bill and invoice. Registering yourself costs almost nothing; a local agent charges $25–$40 per shipment; tax-paid consolidated lines usually cover it. In short, this is not where you save.
Low-value samples below $50 still need the declaration. Route through Cairo or Port Said before Alexandria, if you ask me. Want to test Egypt this year? Run one shipment through the whole flow and see where it stings.