Egypt’s cultivated land rises 2.7% in 2023/24 on expanded wheat, potato planting – CAPMAS

Egypt cultivated 10.1 million feddans of crops in the 2023/24 agricultural year, up 2.7 per cent from 9.8 million feddans a year earlier, driven by expanded wheat and potato planting, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said Thursday.

The country’s total cultivated area, including permanent crops, reached 17.0 million feddans, an increase of 1.1 per cent from 16.8 million in 2022/23, CAPMAS said.

Wheat planting expanded to 3.3 million feddans, producing 9.4 million tons — a 4.1 per cent rise year-on-year. Potato cultivation also rose to 711,800 feddans, with output up 11.6 per cent to 9.6 million tons.

Rice cultivation fell to 1.3 million feddans, yielding 5.0 million tons, down 19.5 per cent, while tomato planting grew to 414,100 feddans though production edged down to 7.0 million tons.

Orange and banana production saw little change, reaching 3.3 million and 1.35 million tons respectively.

CAPMAS said the overall increase in cultivated land reflected the expansion of planted areas despite variations in individual crop yields.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser