CAIRO
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Egypt's agricultural exports, the oldest country in the world that knew agriculture thanks to the Nile River, were absent for many years before it returned to the fore in the past two years after its exports achieved unprecedented numbers for local and international reasons, within the framework of a program to increase exports despite the water scarcity crisis. .
The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Al-Qaseer, announced last Saturday that agricultural exports amounted to approximately 6.5 million tons in 2022, at a value of about $3.3 billion for the first time in its history, compared to about 5.6 million tons, at a value of $3 billion, in 2021.
Citrus fruits topped the list of Egyptian exports, followed by potatoes, then fresh onions, grapes, fresh tomatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, fresh beans, guavas, garlic, mangoes, watermelons, and pomegranates, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s final report on Egypt’s agricultural exports during the year 2022, with an increase of 800,000. tons.
However, these numbers, whether related to volume or value, remain modest compared to global agricultural exports to countries such as Romania and Ukraine.
Total Egyptian exports during the first 11 months of 2022 amounted to about 32 billion and 575 million dollars, an increase of about 11% during the same period in 2021.
How did Egypt's agricultural exports jump?
The head of the Central Administration for Agricultural Quarantine, Dr. Ahmed Al-Attar, described the increase in the volume of agricultural exports as a "boom", and said: "For the first time in the history of Egyptian agricultural exports, exports amounted to about 6.5 million tons, which was repeated last year when exports reached 5.6 million tons, which confirms The government is on the right track."
He explained, in statements to Al-Jazeera Net, that the agricultural quarantine succeeded in increasing the volume and value of agricultural exports despite global crises such as the Corona pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the global container crisis and the unprecedented global inflation, and it reflected positively on the agricultural economy and the lives of farmers.
He attributed the reasons for the jump in Egypt's agricultural exports to several reasons:
The success of the agricultural quarantine during the last five years in opening 80 new markets for Egyptian agricultural exports.
Creating a new system for agricultural exports, especially "coding", and tracking export farms, which contributed to tightening control over exports and improving their reputation.
The commitment of farmers to apply the recommendations of the agricultural quarantine and the commitment of the exporter to renew the subscriptions of the agricultural quarantine.
In terms of the obstacles facing the Ministry of Agriculture in achieving its goals, according to al-Attar, there is a large deficit in the amount of agricultural quarantine workers.
Egypt is one of the largest countries in the world in the production of dates (Palm Fil)
How does Egypt save water by exporting crops?
The Egyptian government's plan to increase exports of fruits and vegetables is consistent with the recommendations of a 2021 study by researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known as MIT.
The recommendations call for “shifting production from water-intensive crops such as maize and wheat to low-value water-requirement crops such as fruits and vegetables, which are highly profitable in the market and better suited to high-efficiency irrigation methods, and then sell these products for profits, to import corn.” And wheat.”
The statement - issued by the study and published on the "Phys.org" website - says that agriculture is an important sector in the Egyptian economy, and for thousands of years the Nile River has provided Egypt with more water than it needs, as nearly 90% of its Nile River water to agricultural production in Egypt.
How do agricultural exports keep rising?
Gamal Siam, a professor of agricultural economics at Cairo University, believes that the continuation of the state of recovery in Egypt's agricultural exports depends on several factors, "including overcoming the water scarcity crisis, which may be deepened by the completion of the construction of the Renaissance Dam without reaching an agreement with Egypt and Sudan, and the state's continuation in increasing agricultural areas and greenhouses." agricultural".
He indicated, to Al-Jazeera Net, that the most threatening to the state's plan is:
weather changes.
Population increase (the population is expected to reach 160 million in 2050).
Water scarcity, the per capita share does not exceed 560 cubic meters annually.
Siam considered that despite the positive new numbers, it was possible to double the volume of benefit from agricultural crops. We are talking about $500, the average price of a ton of vegetables and fruits, which is a modest and cheap number, and the biggest beneficiaries are the exporters, not the farmers. It is not sold fresh, especially since 60% of its ingredients are fresh water, meaning that we export water, but industrialization adds new job opportunities and increases local production, because we do not have the luxury of abundant water.
The agricultural economist believed that Egypt benefited from the closure practiced by many exporting countries, the disruption of supply chains in 2020, and the increase in the volume of its agricultural exports, in addition to the production of 40,000 greenhouses within the 100,000 greenhouse project of the Armed Forces, an increase in production of two million tons, and the establishment of Agricultural projects in the New Delta, another in Toshka in southern Egypt and Sinai, and finally the pound’s decline against foreign currencies by more than 60%, which helped encourage exports.
Children and women harvesting wheat in an Egyptian village (Al-Jazeera)
Why did Egypt's exports increase in general?
The increase in Egypt's exports, in general, is due to the increase in global demand for Egyptian products in various productive sectors, which contributed to preserving export markets and accessing new markets.
The United States of America came at the forefront of the markets receiving Egyptian exports, followed by Saudi Arabia with about $2 billion, Turkey with $1.9 billion, Italy with $1.8 billion, and the UAE with $1.2 billion.
What is the importance of the agricultural sector to the national economy?
The agricultural sector is one of the pillars of the Egyptian national economy and constitutes about 15% of the gross domestic product. The number of workers in the agricultural sector is about 5.2 million, or about 19.2% of the total number of workers.
The sector's contribution to the gross domestic product reached about 15% last year, and 17% of commodity exports at a value of $3 billion, in addition to agricultural manufacturing, with an agricultural area of 9.7 million acres.
Egypt was able to achieve self-sufficiency in 9 agricultural crops during the year 2020, the most important of which are vegetables with a production of 25.5 million tons, fruits with a production of 10.7 million tons, rice with a production of 6.5 million tons, white corn with a production of 4.5 million tons, and onions with a production of 4 million tons.
What is the size of the water deficit in Egypt and its impact on agriculture?
Agriculture accounts for 86% of Egypt's share of the Nile River, which amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters, while the per capita share does not exceed 560 cubic meters annually, which is a small percentage, as the global water poverty limit is 1,000 cubic meters, according to the United Nations.
Egypt's water resources, which warn of approaching the limit of water scarcity, are estimated at about 60 billion cubic meters annually of water, most of which comes from the waters of the Nile River, in addition to very limited amounts of rainwater and deep groundwater in deserts, according to official statistics published by the official website of the State Information Service. Egyptian (government agency).
While the total water needs in Egypt amount to about 114 billion cubic meters annually of water, and the gap is estimated at about 54 billion cubic meters annually through water reuse, and the import of agricultural crops equivalent to about 34 billion cubic meters annually, according to official data.
On more than one occasion, Egyptian officials have insisted over the past years that their country has entered a stage of acute poverty with regard to water, and that it is working to harness its resources to benefit from every drop of water.
the effects of water scarcity on agricultural production and food availability;
It is an urgent issue that must be addressed in the countries of the Near East and North Africa, especially in Egypt, in light of the increase in the population and dependence on a fixed and specific source of water (the Nile River), according to a study issued by the American University in Cairo.