Geographical Distribution of Egyptian Onion Exports in Foreign Markets

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Economics and Agricultural Extension - Faculty of Technology and Development - Zagazig University

2 Faculty of Technology and Development - Zagazig University

Abstract

Egyptian exports are generally considered one of the main economic activities, as the economic policy aims to maximize their returns by increasing and diversifying exports. Onions are also an important export crop that can contribute to providing foreign currency. Therefore, the research aimed to study the competitiveness of Egyptian exports of onion crops in its most important import markets. One of the most important results reached by the research was that by studying the percentage of loss in the crop, it was found that it is a result of the production process and marketing operations from transportation, storage, packaging and lack of good ventilation of the crop, as well as the lack of resistance of some varieties of onions to diseases, especially fungal diseases, as the percentage of loss in the crop annually reaches about 9.83%. As well as the penetration rate of the most important markets importing Egyptian onions during that period, it became clear that the competitiveness of Egyptian exports of Egyptian onions in the most important markets importing them has decreased, which requires activating the role of Egyptian trade representation offices in embassies in these countries and working to open new markets for Egyptian onion exports. Saudi Arabia is considered the most important importing country for Egyptian onions, as it imported approximately 157 thousand tons of Egyptian onions, and the percentage of concentration of exports of that crop was estimated at Within the Saudi market, about 57.93%, while the Netherlands ranked second, as the quantity of Egyptian onion exports amounted to about 26 thousand tons, while the geographical concentration factor of Egyptian onions in that market was estimated at about 15.78%, while Italy and the Russian Federation came in third and fourth place with a percentage of 12.30% and 12.29% respectively. Therefore, the study recommends the necessity of opening new markets for Egyptian onion exports, and not relying mainly on one market or a specific number of markets for the onion crop.

Keywords

Main Subjects