Agricultural success for Egypt at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016
More than 90 Egyptian companies supported the Egyptian Agriculture Export Council by exhibiting under its banner at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016.
Egypt was the official Partner Country of FRUIT LOGISTICA 2106
More than 90 Egyptian companies supported the Egyptian Agriculture Export Council by exhibiting under its banner at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2016. Their participation, in an area of more than 1,700 m2, did not go unnoticed, capturing the attention of hundreds of international enterprises from all over the world.
Egypt, which was the official Partner Country of FRUIT LOGISTICA 2106, held more than 700 business meetings during the trade show and is ready to expand its agricultural exports beyond its loyal partners.
“We have put our trust in this show since 1999 and this year we’ve broken all participation records,” said the Chairman of the Egyptian Agriculture Export Council, Ali Eissa.
Egypt boasts vast swathes of new land untouched by pollution or disease. These new areas are ideal for the cultivation of high quality produce and Egypt is now maximising this potential by expanding its agricultural area through major reclamation projects. Furthermore, its unique geographic location is conducive to high quality production, which employs more than 32% of the country’s workforce. In 2014/2015 the country exported over two billion dollars’ worth of agricultural products, not including rice, which represents more than 14% of Egypt’s GDP. As well as the world’s largest exporter of oranges, Egypt is also the world’s second largest producer of artichokes, the fifth producer of tomatoes (specializing in sun-dried and sun-blush tomatoes) and the world’s sixth largest producer of strawberries.
However, Egypt’s product portfolio also includes pomegranates, dates, herbs and spices.
Its production area is mostly concentrated in the new areas, where 80% of Egypt’s crop fields are located, and the country’s main destination markets are the other Arabic nations (accounting for 50% of Egyptian agricultural exports) and the European Union (with around 27%). Egypt exports a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. In 2014/2015 oranges topped the list of exports (with 1.22 million tons), followed by potatoes (650,000 tons), onions (492,000 tons), dried beans (182,000 tons), grapes (111,000 tons), tomatoes (109,000 tons), pomegranates (55,000 tons), green beans (44,000 tons), mandarins (36,000 tons), strawberries (34,000 tons), lemons (33,000 tons) and peanuts (26,000 tons).
Egypt’s logistics and transportation sector plays an increasingly important role in international trade.
About 90% of Egypt’s foreign trade is shipped through ports, while the country’s logistics capacity continues to expand hand-in-hand with the volume of trade. A current example is the expansion of the Suez Canal, which is expected to double the capacity of the current canal from 49 to 97 ships a day. “This will facilitate the shipping of our products because it will attract the biggest service providers and shipping lines,” says Ali Eissa, Chairman of the Egyptian Agriculture Export Council.
The Egyptian authorities are strongly committed to their agricultural sector, which is pulling in the same direction with investments in modern irrigation techniques, packaging facilities and refrigeration systems with the aim of complying with legal requirements to increase certifications and improve traceability. Along with all these goals, Egypt has implemented the Green Trade Initiative, an ambitious plan subsidized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in conjunction with the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry in partnership with the Ministry of International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
