Inside Egypt’s agricultural dominance in the African market: Agriculture is not the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about Egypt.

However, Egyptian agriculture represents about 12% of its GDP, valued at around $250 billion, which includes various fields and cash crops.

Being mostly a plain lifeless desert, Egypt has put together an effective agricultural production, especially in the crops segments.

Egypt turns deserts into agricultural lands using drip irrigation and new agri-technologies.

Rice Production in Egypt

Egypt has the highest rice yield per hectare in Africa estimated at 8.8 tonnes and has the highest annual production. Egypt is the most important rice market in the North African region.

Due to its available land base on the banks of the river Nile, the country produces most of the rice in Africa.

Rice is grown both as a subsistence crop and a cash crop. It is one of the most important crops that the country exports to other countries in Africa and the world.

Egyptian farmers are producing one of the world’s highest rice yields due to adequate research in the field.

Wheat production in Egypt

Egypt is the largest wheat producer in Africa with an annual production of 10 Million Tonnes which is sufficient to feed 62% of its population.

At the current per capita consumption of wheat in Kenya, Egypt’s wheat Production for one year can feed Kenya for nearly five years.

Currently, wheat production has been affected by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as the country looked to scale to about 18 million tonnes of wheat yearly.

Other problems affecting the cultivation of the commodity include pest hitches, lack of fertilizers, land salinity and climate change.

Fruits and Vegetables

Potato production in Egypt

Potato is one of the most important crops grown in Egypt for local consumption, export and processing. The area cultivated with potatoes is about 212,000 acres producing about 2.2 million tons, with an average of 10.5 tonnes per acre.

In 2020, Egypt was the largest producer of Potatoes in Africa, producing 5.2 million tonnes of potatoes, and nearly 3 times Kenya’s production which ranked 4th in Africa. The country is constantly increasing areas of potato production and extending export positions.

Tomato production in Egypt

Egypt produces about 8 million tonnes of fresh tomatoes annually, making it Africa’s best producer and the world’s fifth producer.

But only three to four percent of the tomato crop is processed, and the processing sector suffers from a lack of integration with the supply chain.

In 2020, Egypt was the largest producer of Tomatoes in Africa, producing 6.7 million tonnes and double Nigeria’s production which ranks 2nd in Africa and nearly 6 times Kenya’s production of 1 million tonnes ranking 7th in Africa.

Oranges Production in Egypt

Egypt is the largest producer of oranges in Africa, producing 5.2 million tonnes of oranges, and nearly 3 times more than Kenya’s production which ranks 11th in Africa.

Egypt cultivates a variety of oranges; Egypt orange (crossbreed of Mandarin Orange and Hybrid Pomelo), Navel Oranges (seedless), Valencia Oranges (juice production), Baladi Oranges, Blood oranges and Sweet Oranges (Sukkari)

Egyptian dates production

Egypt is one of the biggest producers of Egypt Dates; the country produces 1.7 million tons yearly, capturing 18% of the global dates production. Ismailia, Cairo’s governorate, has served as a date farm.

Other production regions include; Giza city, Fayoum city, South Sinai, Nubaria region, and Sharkia city.

Egypt produces about 21% of the world’s dates. Its rank in the dates export market is not as high because of the weak value chain starting from the cultivation of palm trees until packaging and distribution.

Dry Onions production in Egypt

Egypt is the largest producer of Dry Onions in the continent, and its annual production is nearly double the production of Sudan which was the second largest producer.

In 2020, Egypt produced 3.2 million MTs of Dry Onions, and Kenya produced 0.2 million tonnes in the same year and ranked 14th in Africa.

Grapes, Apples and Banana production in Egypt

Egypt is the 2nd largest producer of Grapes in Africa, just behind South Africa; and the country is also the 3rd largest producer of Apples, just after South Africa and Morroco. Egypt is also the 4th largest producer of bananas in Africa.

Summary

1. Egypt is the largest wheat producer in Africa with an annual production of 9 Million MTs which is sufficient to feed 62% of the population.
2. At the current per capita consumption of wheat in Kenya, Egypt’s wheat Production for one year can feed Kenya for nearly five years.
3. Egypt has the highest rice yield per hectare in Africa estimated at 8.8 tonnes and has the highest annual production (After Nigeria), with an annual production of 8.1 million tonnes
4. Assuming the current rice per capita consumption in Kenya, Egypt’s Rice Production for one year can feed Kenya for nearly 8 years.
5. Egypt is the largest producer of oranges in Africa, producing 5.2 million tonnes of potatoes, and nearly 3 times more than Kenya’s production which ranks 11th in Africa. ‘
6. Egypt is the largest producer of Potatoes in Africa, producing 5.2 million tonnes of potatoes, and nearly 3 times Kenya’s production which ranked 4th in Africa.
7. Egypt is the largest producer of Tomatoes in Africa, producing 6.7 million tonnes and double Nigeria’s production which ranks 2nd in Africa and nearly 6 times Kenya’s production of 1 million tonnes ranking 7th in Africa.
8. Egypt is the 2nd largest producer of Grapes in Africa, just behind South Africa; and the country is also the 3rd largest producer of Apples, just after South Africa and Morroco. Egypt is also the 4th largest producer of bananas in Africa.
9. Egypt is the largest producer of Dry Onions in the continent, and its annual production is nearly double the production of Sudan which was the second largest producer. In 2020, Egypt produced 3.2 million tonnes of Dry Onions, and Kenya produced 0.2 million tonnes in the same year and ranked 14th in Africa.
10. Although Egypt is the 4th largest producer of Maize in Africa, its annual production is sufficient to feed Kenya for 2 years at the current per capita consumption of 74 kgs.
11. Egypt’s arable land is estimated at 2.9 million hectares, just slightly higher than the arable land in Turkana County whose arable land is 2.5 million hectares.

Data Source: FAOSTAT

Analysis Credits: Elijah Samuel