Egypt: Ministry Targets Over 10 Million Tonnes of Fresh Produce Exports in 2026, With Potatoes Second Only to Citrus
Egypt aims to ship more than 10 million tonnes of fresh agricultural produce in 2026, up from roughly 4 million tonnes a decade ago, Mohamed Ali Fahim, head of the Climate Change Information Center at the Ministry of Agriculture, said in comments carried by FreshPlaza. Potatoes sit second in the export mix behind citrus and ahead of sweet potatoes and grapes.
Citrus leads Egyptian fresh exports at around 2 million tonnes a year, followed by potatoes at about 1 million tonnes, sweet potatoes at 600,000 tonnes and grapes at 200,000 tonnes, according to the ministry’s figures. In all, the country exports some 420 agricultural products to 170 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Combined fresh and processed agricultural exports generate approximately US$11 billion and account for 25–27% of Egypt’s non-oil merchandise exports — a share that stood near 7% before 2014.
The year-to-date numbers support the ambition. Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk said Egypt had exported about 6.8 million tonnes of agricultural produce between January and August 2026, a figure also cited by the cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center. Independent trade data quoted by EnterpriseAM put fresh potato shipments at 929,000 tonnes by late August — putting the crop on track to approach the 1 million tonne annual mark — behind citrus at 2.3 million tonnes, with sweet potatoes at 280,000 tonnes and grapes at 189,000 tonnes.
Weekdays. Unsubscribe in one click.
The 2026 pace is slightly below last year’s record run: volumes through late August were down 2.49% year on year, though still tracking close to the full-year 2025 record of 9.5 million tonnes, when fresh and processed farm exports hit a record US$11.5 billion, or 24% of total exports, EnterpriseAM reported.
Market access is widening alongside volumes. Egypt has opened 21 new agricultural export markets since the start of 2026, according to industry reports, as Cairo pushes toward a US$20 billion agro-export target for 2030.
Fahim said export access helps growers cover cultivation costs while balancing domestic supply and prices, and stressed the need to protect the reputation of Egyptian produce abroad. That quality question is not abstract: EnterpriseAM notes that cold-chain gaps and border rejections over quality in Europe are the main constraints on how far Egyptian volumes can grow — an issue that matters directly for potatoes, since the country ranks as the largest third-country supplier of fresh potatoes to the EU.
For European buyers facing one of the smallest North-West European crops in a decade, Egypt’s export push lands at a timely moment. Whether logistics and quality control can keep pace with the volume target will shape how much of that growth reaches northern European shelves this season.
Sources: FreshPlaza; EnterpriseAM; IDSC (Egyptian Cabinet).
