In Egypt, agriculture accounts for around 11% of GDP and employs almost 20% of the working population. Although arable land covers less than 5% of the country, the sector remains one of the most productive on the continent.
In 2023, Egypt shipped 7.5 million tonnes of agri-food products to the international market. This was revealed by El-Sayed El-Quseir, Minister of Agriculture and Land Restoration, on 21 May. The stock announced was 25% up on the 6 million tonnes of agri-food products shipped a year earlier, setting a new record.
This performance enabled the sector to generate $8.8 billion in export earnings. In detail, horticultural products, driven mainly by the orange and strawberry sectors, accounted for 42% of total revenues, or $3.7 billion. The remainder came mainly from sales of processed agricultural products.
According to El-Sayed El-Quseir, this success is also attributable to the many efforts made by the government in recent years to expand opportunities on the international market. “In 2023, 400 agricultural products were exported to 160 countries. Over the past decade, Egyptian agricultural exports have penetrated 93 new markets”, he points out.
Although the main destinations for shipments were not specified, it should be remembered that Russia, the EU and the Gulf countries represent the traditional outlets for Egypt’s agricultural sector.
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