Egypt: 'Govt. must prioritise the advancement of ag sector'

Food industry exports face a number of obstacles, the most prominent of which is the difficulty of transferring products to export markets in an appropriate period. Exports also suffer from a lack of storage spaces at ports equipped to store the sector’s products, which require different storage techniques from other products.

Companies suffer from great difficulties in compliance with international standards for export due to the weakness of a large number of products and the difficulty of obtaining quality certificates that are required for entering high-cost markets.

The industry plays a major role in providing employment opportunities, in addition to its role in the development of various economic activities, reducing dependence on imports, as well as supporting the export capabilities and providing foreign currency.

Agricultural industrialisation is one of the arms of the industry in Egypt, which requires many basic components, the most important of which is funding.

Professor of Agricultural Economics at Al-Azhar University and Secretary General of the Arab Cooperative Union, Mahmoud Mansour Abdel Fattah, said that total investments in the agricultural sector do not exceed EGP 10bn, pointing out that this number must be multiplied by four at least.

Abdel Fattah explained that the agricultural industrialisation and agriculture are two sides of the same coin, adding that the government must prioritise the advancement of the sector, along with coordination and integration between production, processing, exporting and building networks between farmers and agro-processing facilities.

Abdel Fattah said the annual production of tomatoes in Egypt is 7m tonnes, of which at least 35% is damaged because of the use of sterile technology in production, harvesting, transport, and storage.

He said that the agro-industrial sector can provide 1.7m jobs if it is vitalised, in addition to increasing farmers’ income and creating growth capacities.

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