This trend is due to the profitability of the sector, with its very strong competitiveness strengthened by the devaluation of the pound. The country has improved its standing on the traditional markets (especially Russia, where the country also took advantage of the embargo on Turkish produce in 2015-16 and on Community produce), as well as breaking through in Asia. Surface areas have increased by more than 10 000 ha over the past five years, with exports at the same time going from one million tonnes to nearly 1.5 million tonnes. The trend should pick up speed in 2016-17. In October 2016 the government launched a new programme granting permits for reclaimed desert land. This policy has been able increase the country’s agricultural surface area by more than one million hectares since its implementation in the 1930s. The first lot of this new package covers 210 000 ha (out of a total of 630 000 ha), situated in Minya Governorate (centre), in the Toshka area (Upper Egypt) and Farafra oasis (west of the country). The irrigation, a crucial problem, will be 80 % provided by wells (nearly 5 000 in the Minya and Farafra areas). While the desert is turning green, the fossil groundwater could well run increasingly dry.
Source: USDA
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