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Text: Peng Yibin
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introduction
More than 94% of Egypt's land is desert, and most of the land available throughout the country is concentrated in the Nile Delta, a small piece of "effective land" with an area of only 50,000 square kilometers, which is only slightly larger than the area of three Beijing cities, but in Egypt it has given birth to 110 million people.
What exactly does Egypt do to feed so many people on a limited land?
(Egypt is surrounded by desert)
1. Nature's Gift: The Nile Delta
The Nile Delta was originally formed by the confluence of the Nile River into the Mediterranean Sea, and it was also one of the origins of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Egypt has a total arable land area of 31,000 square kilometers, and the Nile Delta covers an area of 24,000 square kilometers.
With 31,000 square kilometers of effective land to feed 100 million Egyptians, the Nile Delta has played a huge role. Formed by the sediment carried by the Nile, the Nile is a place of flat terrain with fertile soil, and the rivers are criss-crossed, occupying two-thirds of Egypt's arable land.
(Nile Delta)
Behind the origin of every civilization, it is inseparable from the support of water. The development of ancient Egyptian civilization was also based on the Nile Delta. The Nile Delta is a densely populated region that is also the world's leading producer of long-staple cotton due to irrigated agriculture, replacing the desert with grasslands and bringing great wealth to the whole of Egypt.
Most of Egypt's wheat, rice, long-staple cotton, bananas, oranges, and sugar cane come from here.
Egypt is also a traditional agricultural country, with 5.5 million people working in agriculture-related jobs, and even the government is very supportive of youth farming.
The land in the delta is fertile and suitable for plant production, and in 2019, Egypt produced nearly 100,000 tons of rice per square hectare, ranking second in the world, according to the United Nations.
(Cotton cultivation in Egypt)
In addition, Egypt's onions, tomatoes, oranges, etc., among the top 10 outputs, especially orange exports, ranks first in the world.
Egypt's annual agricultural income is 22.7 billion US dollars, especially after Egypt signed bilateral free trade agreements with the European Union, Turkey, and other countries in the Middle East, more fresh fruits and dairy products have gone abroad. Orange exports have maintained an average annual growth rate of 10% for nearly five years.
Among them, the bilateral trade volume between China and Egypt reached 13.202 billion US dollars in 2019, all of which also depend on the good operation of the Nile Delta. The Nile Delta has brought agricultural development and growth to Egypt, sustaining countless Egyptian people on limited land and limited economic benefits.
But when you compare the situation in China and Egypt, it seems that with such little arable land, it seems that there is simply no way to feed 110 million people. What do the extra people eat?
(Egyptian orange)
Second, the land is not enough, and imports come to make up
Since Egypt does not have enough effective land, Egypt does not have enough food, and Egypt is now one of the world's largest food importers, relying on imports for more than 70% of its food.
Since Egypt was once a colony, cotton is still the backbone of Egypt, and 20% of the arable land is used to grow cotton.
(Egypt's Welfare Flatbread)
Although the economic efficiency of cotton has increased, the production of food is not enough, especially after World War II, the population of Egypt has skyrocketed. The Nile Delta, and the coastal areas of the Nile, are the main agricultural regions of Egypt, and the technology of its own expansion is insufficient, but the population is rising.
Therefore, with only food and land, it is naturally impossible to feed 100 million people, so Egypt has imported food on a large scale since the fifties of the last century.
After the Arab Spring, Egypt's food problem became even more acute, and the only way to solve the internal food shortage was to import food.
(Egyptian grain imports)
In 2020, 86% of Egypt's wheat imports came from Russia and Ukraine, but Egypt's grain imports are also facing a certain crisis after the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, the large amount of grain imports still fed the 100 million Egyptians, and together with the welfare pie of Egypt, the basic food problem of the majority of Egyptians was ensured.
3. Industrial development in Egypt
As of 2019, Egypt has proven oil reserves of 400 million tons and natural gas reserves of 2.1 trillion cubic meters, and in 2015, Egypt discovered the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean. In addition, Egypt is also rich in mineral reserves, with 60 million tons of iron ore.
(Egyptian Petroleum Industry)
These have also contributed to the industrial development of Egypt, which is a very important oil and gas producer in Africa, and the oil and gas industry is the backbone of Egypt's economy, accounting for 13.6% of GDP. Egypt's oil and gas companies are under the centralized management of the Egyptian state, and at the same time attracted a large amount of foreign investment, which amounted to $35 billion between 2016 and 2019.
GDP in the fuel and energy sector, accounting for 27% of GDP. Egypt's oil and its exports account for 30% of its export earnings and a quarter of the country's GDP.
While oil could not feed more people, it could be exchanged for more food, which could feed the Egyptians.
(Mining Operations)
Egypt's textile industry is also relatively developed, because it is one of the production areas of long-staple cotton, there is a very complete textile industry cluster in Egypt, and the industrial chain is very complete. There are more than 7,000 textile enterprises in Egypt, absorbing 1.5 million jobs, creating a 3% GDP share, and accounting for 10.6% of the annual export volume, which is exported to Europe and the United States.
Egypt's steel industry is the largest producer and consumer in Africa, and Egypt's steel industry is also the pillar industry of Egypt, with a large proportion in industrial manufacturing fields such as construction and shipbuilding. However, Egypt's industry is relatively backward in terms of development technology, coupled with relatively high costs, and has not been effectively developed.
Overall, Egypt's industry has also supported the country's development and fed so many Egyptians.
(Egyptian Industry)
Fourth, tourism trade has promoted Egypt's economic development
Due to its long history, there are many places of interest and monuments, and Egypt is one of the ancient civilizations in the past, and we can see many remnants of ancient Egyptian civilization here.
Therefore, the Egyptian government also pays great attention to the development of tourism, Egyptian temples, pyramids, mummies...... These are full of unique mysteries.
In recent years, many film and television productions have been filmed in Egypt, and in the 2022/2023 fiscal year, Egypt's tourism revenue reached 13.6 billion US dollars, an increase of 26.8%.
This is also because many people in the mainland have liked to travel to Egypt in the past two years, and even in 2024, many travel bloggers who go to Egypt will become popular.
The local consumption in Egypt is not high, and the cost is much lower than that of the mainland, even in the scenic spots, it is very cheap. Compared with Australia, Europe and the United States, the general consumption is 5-10 times lower.
(Pyramids, Sphinx)
The service industry behind tourism also drives Egypt's economic income, plus the service industry occupies an important position in Egypt's national economy. Currently, Egypt's services account for more than 50% of GDP, as well as revenues from the Suez Canal. All these constitute Egypt's deficit in trade in goods, making up for part of the shortage of foreign exchange.
Although Egypt has a small effective land area and only 31,000 square kilometers of arable land, Egypt is still feeding the 100 million people in its own way.
Resources
[1] Egypt has ensured food security amid global trade challenges. Daily Economy.2023-08-02
[2] 100 million, Egypt's population exploded. The Paper.2021-03-08
[3] [Invest in Africa] China-Egypt Agricultural Cooperation Highlights Complementary Advantages|China Investment. China Investment Reference.2020-07-06
[4] Russia-Ukraine war has smashed Egypt's "rice bowl": soaring wheat prices may trigger a food crisis.2022-03-10
[5] Country (Regional) Guide to Foreign Investment Cooperation: Egypt. Department of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
[6] How did the "granary of the Roman Empire" become a major importer of grain? What has Egypt experienced?.The Paper.2020-10-07
[7] Egypt. encyclopedia