Egypt’s Potato Market in Focus

Updated 5/30/2025 9:00:00 AM

Every year on May 30^th, the world celebrates one of the most widely consumed foods, potatoes. They are the third most important food crop after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. Over a billion people rely on potatoes, with global annual production exceeding 300 million tons. Egypt plays a significant role as both a producer and an exporter.

In this Factsheet, we will explore Egypt’s potato production, consumption, and exports, highlighting its global position.

Egypt’s total potato crop area reached 649,000 feddans in the 2022/2023 season, marking an 11% increase from 584,800 feddans in 2021/2022. Potato crops account for around 31.4% of Egypt’s total vegetable crop area.
Potato production in Egypt increased by 19% year-on-year (YoY), reaching 8.57 million tons in 2022/2023, compared to 7.2 million tons in 2021/2022. This represented around 34.4% of Egypt’s total vegetable production.
In the 2022/2023 season, the New Valley governorate was Egypt’s largest potato-producing location, with 1.6 million tons, making up 18.7% of the country’s total production. Nubaria City came in second spot with 1.3 million tons, while Minya governorate ranked third with 1.04 million tons.
Globally, Egypt is known as a significant potato producer. It ranked as the 12 th largest potato producer in the world in 2022, contributing 2% to global potato production.
In 2023, the majority of Egypt’s potato production, 4.8 million tons, was directed towards domestic consumption, with per capita consumption reaching 3 kilograms.
In 2024, Egypt was the world’s 5th largest potato exporter, with a market share of 5.8%. Potato exports totaled $114 million, reflecting a 4% YoY increase and accounting for 9% of Egypt’s total agriculture exports.
Egypt’s exports accessed 60 international markets in 2024. Greece, Russia, and Italy were the top importing markets, with imports worth $59 million, $47.9 million, and $42.6 million, respectively.

By: Amina Hussein