Egypt’s agricultural exports exceed 5m tons in 2020

Egypt’s agricultural exports exceeded more than five million tons in 2020 despite the coronavirus outbreak and its disruption to transport and international trade. (File/AFP)

• Exports amounted to five million tons of agricultural products, equivalent to $2.1 billion (EGP33 billion)
• The most important agricultural exports were citrus fruits, potatoes, onions, beets, pomegranates, grapes, potatoes, mangoes, garlic, strawberries, beans, guava and pepper

CAIRO: Egypt’s agricultural exports exceeded more than five million tons in 2020 despite the coronavirus outbreak and its disruption to transport and international trade, according to the country’s minister of agriculture and land reclamation. 
Al-Sayed El-Quseir said that 11 new markets were opened for agricultural products, the most important of which was Japan, and that a protocol was signed to export mangoes to the US. These developments proved the quality of Egyptian agricultural products, he added.
Exports amounted to five million tons of agricultural products, equivalent to $2.1 billion (EGP33 billion), which would contribute to supporting foreign exchange reserves.
The most important agricultural exports were citrus fruits, potatoes, onions, beets, pomegranates, grapes, potatoes, mangoes, garlic, strawberries, beans, guava and pepper.
According to official data, New Zealand opened its market for Egyptian oranges, the Brunei and Indonesian markets opened for onions, the Argentine, Japanese, Uzbekistan and Brazilian market opened for citrus fruits, while the Indian and Mauritian markets opened for potatoes.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation said that the volume of exports being targeted in 2021 in light of the 2020 rates was subject to supply and demand. 
There was also work being carried out in terms of monitoring, quarantine and supervision to ensure that the requirements of importing countries were met.
“We are working at full capacity,” the minister said.