Agricultural produce is second-largest source of foreign income for Egypt

CAIRO: Agricultural produce is the second-largest source of foreign currency for Egypt after building materials, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture announced last week.
The ministry said this was due to the “significant efforts” it has made in recent years, in collaboration with other state institutions, as well as “the awareness and efforts” of Egyptian farmers and exporters.
Ahmed Ibrahim, media adviser for the ministry, told Arab News: “The political leadership has placed great trust in the agricultural sector, which has contributed to the success of the agricultural export management system. This success is also a result of the agricultural projects in the New Delta and East Oweinat regions, reaffirming the significant role of research institutions affiliated with the ministry and Egyptian universities in managing Egypt’s agricultural portfolios.”
The export of agricultural produce generated $939 million in the first two months of 2024, according to a report by Egypt’s General Authority for Export and Import Control.
Faiez Rashwan, a professor at Cairo University’s Faculty of Agriculture, told Arab News: “The measures taken by the Egyptian state to increase the competitiveness of Egyptian agricultural exports have led to an unprecedented boom in this field, making agricultural produce the second-largest source of foreign currency for Egypt, having opened up a large number of markets over the past 10 years.”
Rashwan added: “Currently, more than 400 food products are being exported to 160 markets, the most prominent of which are the Saudi and Italian markets.
“The Japanese market was opened in 2020 after a difficult and lengthy process. This was the first time that we have entered this market for citrus exports — a testament to the quality of Egyptian products, considering the stringent procedures. And efforts are underway to open the Japanese market to Egyptian exports of grapes and pomegranates.”
The professor continued: “The Salvadoran market has recently been opened to Egyptian tangerines, and efforts are ongoing to open new markets through official communication channels with other countries.”
Mervat Fahim, deputy minister of agriculture, said: “There has been an increase in the volume of Egyptian agricultural exports, with an unprecedented surge in fresh agricultural exports in 2023, reaching about 7.4 million tons, an increase of nearly 1 million tons over 2022.” In 2014, she added, Egypt exported around 4 million tons of agricultural produce.