Market Trends of Agriculture Industry In MENA Region
Quest for Food Self-sufficiency is Driving Production
- Among the food security challenges in the region, undernourishment, poverty, low agricultural productivity under scarce natural resources, and food import dependency pose the main problems. To tackle the increasing dependency on imports, countries in the region are taking several measures to ramp up production, as there are opportunities to partially address food insecurity by increasing production.
- For instance, in 2022, a political blockade in Qatar turned into a boon for its food security as the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in cooperation with shopping malls and large retail outlets, unveiled the "National Product" of the "Made in Qatar" initiative. Under this initiative, farmers are growing fruits and vegetables in greenhouses, which are being sold as goods bearing the slogan "National Product" prominently to facilitate consumers' access to these products.
- According to a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report titled "The State of Food Insecurity in the World," Morocco has significantly reduced hunger by maximizing production from large-scale farms and supporting small-scale farms in reducing poverty and hunger through venture capitalism. According to Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), the production of cereals in Morroco grew from 3.3 million metric tons in 2020 to more than 3.5 million tons in 2023. Similarly, in North Africa, the production of fruits and vegetables showed a significant rise in 2023 compared to 2020, with a production of more than 34.9 million metric tons of vegetables and 34.9 million metric tons of fruits in 2023. Thus, the quest for achieving food self-sufficiency is majorly driving agricultural production in the MENA region.
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Egypt Dominates the Region
- Egypt is the region's highest producer of fruits and vegetables, closely followed by Iran. Fruits and vegetables are the most suitable crops for the climatic conditions of countries in the MENA region. The countries in the region direct their scarce water resources to more value-added crops, such as fruit and vegetables grown in greenhouses, as opposed to growing water-intensive cereal crops.
- According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Egypt produced more than 14.3 million metric tons of primary fruits and 15.9 million metric tons of primary vegetables in 2023. Egypt is also a significant exporter of fruit and vegetables to the European Union. Major fruits and vegetables produced in the region are grapes, dates, watermelon, bananas, oranges, sugarcane, eggplants, and potatoes.
- In 2023, the production of dates increased by 1.5% compared to 2021 to reach a volume of more than 1.7 million metric tons, The Egyptian government has launched a food and agriculture project worth USD 3.3 billion in 2022 to increase the production output and has initiatives for integrated agriculture development programs such as the South Valley Development Project (Toshka), the Egyptian Rural Development Project, and the North and Central Sinai Development Project. Hence, the production of fruits and vegetables is likely to increase, which is projected to drive the whole agricultural sector in the country during the forecast period.
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