The Economic Importance of Egyptian Foreign Agricultural Trade in Dates

Despite the economic importance of the date palm crop, it faces many challenges related to how to optimally utilize economic resources in its production, achieving the highest net farm income under the available agricultural conditions. Not only that, but date palm production in Egypt faces many problems and obstacles, perhaps the most significant of which is the fluctuation in palm productivity from year to other and from region to other a which impacts Egypt's foreign agricultural trade in dates. The research primarily aims to examine the economic importance of Egyptian foreign agricultural trade in dates, and to identify their competitive position in key international markets. To achieve its objectives, the research relies on descriptive and quantitative analysis methods. It will also address some indicators of the competitiveness of dates in international markets. The study depends on published and unpublished secondary data from various official sources, in addition to utilizing technical and economic research and studies related to the subject of the study. By studying the development of the quantity, value and price of world date exports during the period (2010-2023), it became clear that the quantity of world date exports increased by a statistically significant amount of about 92.71 thousand tons, with an annual growth rate of about 7.9%, while the value of world date exports increased by a statistically significant amount of about $133.92 million, with an annual growth rate of about 0.09%.