Resource information
The report proposes key elements for an
agricultural export-oriented strategy in Egypt, that would
build on the achievements of the agricultural strategy
during the 1990s. Substantial improvements in the
country's macroeconomic environment, following policy
reforms - though necessary - have not been sufficient to
improve agricultural export performance. Overall, while
Egyptian agricultural production increased during the 90s,
agricultural exports remained low, and, the fact that both
Egyptian production, and world market trends are
substantially less volatile, is a first indicator of the
potential to increase agricultural exports. The proposed
agricultural export strategy starts with an analysis of the
agricultural export potential in the country, which includes
a review on the overall agricultural export performance; an
analysis of the incentive framework in agriculture,
including estimates of the current nominal, and effective
protection rates of key imports, and exports, and, the
estimated effects of alternative agricultural, and trade
policy reform scenarios, on the returns to farming in
alternative crops. This analysis identifies two agricultural
sub-sectors - cotton and horticultural crops - from which
Egypt, contingent on policy reforms, could benefit from
potentially substantial comparative advantages in trade.
Based on the recognition that export promotion requires a
mix of sector-wide, and sub-sector specific reforms, the
rational focus of the report was to identify the main
impediments of export growth in the cotton, and
horticultural sectors. The report further offers suggestions
to phasing in reforms, so that policies increasing farming
returns in exports, precede those that will decrease
(absolute) returns in competing crops.
