The European Union has agreed to import unlimited amounts of Egyptian potatoes duty-free starting in June.
Since the beginning of this year, Egypt has exported a total of 261,108 tons of potatoes, of which 171,223 tons went to the EU and 90,000 tons to Arab and African countries.
"Our exporters have strictly conformed with international specifications so that our produce can compete on international markets,"said Agriculture Ministry Undersecretary Safwat el-Haddad.
Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, meanwhile, has ordered that the import of seed potatoes into Egypt be subject to the supervision of a special ministerial committee. He has also allowed importers to bring in new varieties of seed potatoes not currently registered with the ministry, but at a maximum of ten tons for the first year and 50 tons for the following two years.
