In Egypt, agriculture contributes around 11% to the GDP and employs nearly 20% of the workforce.
Despite arable land covering less than 5% of the territory, the sector remains one of the most productive on the continent.
In 2023, Egypt shipped 7.5 million tons of agri-food products to the international market. El-Sayed El-Quseir, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, revealed this on May 21. This figure represents a 25% increase from the 6 million tons exported the previous year, setting a new record.
This achievement generated $8.8 billion in export revenues for the sector. Specifically, horticultural products, mainly driven by the orange and strawberry sectors, accounted for 42% of the total revenue, amounting to $3.7 billion. The remainder primarily came from sales of processed agricultural products.
According to Mr. El-Quseir, this success is also due to the government’s significant efforts in recent years to expand international market access. “The year 2023 saw the export of 400 agricultural products to 160 countries. Over the past decade, Egyptian agricultural exports have entered 93 new markets,” the official emphasized.
Although the main destinations of these exports were not specified, it is important to note that Russia, the EU, and Gulf countries are traditional markets for Egypt’s agricultural sector.