The Competitiveness of Egyptian Orange Crops in Major Foreign Markets

The study revealed that the most important countries to which Egyptian orange exports were concentrated during the first period (2003–2012) and the second period (2013–2022) were the Russian Federation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ukraine. The low value of the geographical concentration coefficient reflects the diversity and expansion of import markets for Egyptian orange exports.By estimating the competitiveness indicators of Egyptian oranges in their major global markets, it was found that the coefficient of revealed comparative advantage increased during the two research periods to approximately 49.39 and 47.64, respectively. This indicates the existence of a strong revealed comparative advantage in the production and export of Egyptian oranges, and demonstrates their high acceptance among consumers in both local and international markets.By analyzing the key factors affecting Egyptian orange exports to major global markets using gravity models during the period (2003–2022), the results of the basic gravity model showed that a 1% increase in the Egyptian population, and a 1-kilometer increase in the geographical distance between Egypt and importing countries, lead to a decrease in the value of orange exports by 4.523% and USD 1.753, respectively. In contrast, a 1% increase in the population of importing countries, Egypt’s GDP, the GDP of importing countries, and the export price per ton of oranges leads to an increase in the value of orange exports by 0.227%, 1.427%, 0.380%, and 0.862%, respectively.