Agriculture in Egypt is undergoing a structural shift, where it’s not just growing but changing how it does business. Loans taken on by farmers and other agribusinesses to fuel investment jumped just under 250% y-o-y to EGP 56 bn in FY 2023-24, according to freshly released data from state statistics agency Capmas.

But the composition of that lending tells the real story: Medium-term loans rose more than 1,000% to EGP 22.6 bn, while short-term lending fell more than 20% to EGP 8.6 bn. Similarly, long-term loans to the industry were up nearly 740% to EGP 24.8 bn. This means that farmers are borrowing less to get through the season, and far more to buy equipment and build capacity.

CAPEX is in, cashflow finance is out. The sector now employs more than 27% of Egypt’s workforce and is regaining weight as a contributor to GDP, Egyptian Businessmen’s Association Agriculture and Irrigation Committee Chairman Mostafa El Naggari tells EnterpriseAM. Rising investment reflects growing confidence that agriculture can support longer planning horizons rather than hand-to-mouth survival, El Naggari added.

Export performance is reinforcing that confidence. Egypt’s fruit and vegetable exports have been growing at an annual rate of 15-17% over the past three years, El Naggari said. At the same time, food imports are easing, with Egypt importing 30% less wheat than last year, a decline El Naggari attributes to improved storage systems and the expansion of cultivation into newly reclaimed land.

That expansion includes strategic crops such as wheat, sugar beet, sunflower, and soybeans, helping reduce the import bill and rebalance trade flows. Egypt has now reached sugar self-sufficiency and is preparing to enter export markets — a sharp reversal from its long-standing position as an importer of up to 1 mn tons annually, El Naggari said.

The data suggests subsidized credit is doing much of the heavy lifting. Central bank-backed initiatives — including one with an interest rate of 5% for crop production and smart agriculture systems — are channeling funding primarily through the Agricultural Bank of Egypt, with other lenders joining through similar programs, El Naggari tells us.

For operators, the interest rate gap is decisive. At market rates north of 15%, expansion plans for many would stall under financing costs. But for now, cheap money is doing what decades of reform couldn’t — helping change the business model of Egyptian agriculture.

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