Egypt’s agricultural exports reach $1.2B in 2017/18

CAIRO – 30 October 2018: Egypt’s agricultural exports recorded about $1.2 billion during 2017/2018, according to Chairman of Export Council of Agricultural Crops and Member of the House of Representatives Abdel Hamid Demerdash.

Demerdash clarified that Egypt exported about 4 million tons of agricultural products, compared to 3.8 million tons in the previous year, marking a 5 percent increase.

He added that the agricultural exports overcame many problems, especially with regard to the ban imposed by some countries on certain products, which has been dealt with recently, as Saudi Arabia and Sudan lifted the ban they placed on some exports.

On October 25, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir lifted the ban on importing Egyptian products, after the ban had been imposed for two years, to enhance trade volume between both countries.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on imports of Egyptian strawberries, pepper and guava.

Additionally, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have recently lifted their bans on imports of Egyptian lettuce, guava, onions, pepper and potatoes, which were suspended because of the high pesticide residues.

The Agriculture Export Council (AEC) announced in May that agricultural exports rose 2 percent during seven months from September 2017 to March 2018, recording $1.34 billion, compared to $1.31 billion during the same period of the previous year.

As per vegetables and fruits, the Agriculture Ministry's Central Administration for Agricultural Quarantine said in May that agricultural exports of vegetables and fruits amounted to 2.88 tons during the current season.

In 2017, Egypt’s agricultural exports increased 3 percent to reach $2.2 billion, compared to $2.1 billion in 2016.