Egypt’s medicinal, aromatic plant exports reach $852m in 2025

Egypt’s exports of medicinal and aromatic plants and related products reached around $852m in 2025, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk said on Saturday, as the government seeks to expand local processing and increase value added across the sector.

Farouk made the remarks at the opening of the fifth Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Festival at the Agricultural Museum in Dokki. The two-day event brings together more than 80 farmers, processors, exporters and investors.

He said medicinal and aromatic crops are cultivated on around 80,000 feddans across Egypt and include marjoram, basil, mint, anise, chamomile, fennel, coriander, hibiscus and jasmine, as well as aromatic oils and extracts.

Exports of dried herbs, extracts and oils reached $852m in 2025, compared with around $400m in previous years, Farouk said. The ministry’s statement did not specify the period covered by the comparison.

He added that around 85% of the output of some crops in dried-herb form is exported, making the sector an important source of foreign currency and employment.

Farouk said the ministry aims to move beyond exporting raw agricultural products by encouraging investment in drying, extraction, distillation, essential oils and plant-based products with higher added value.

The ministry is also working to improve farming practices, product quality and safety, water-use efficiency, and traceability and certification systems required by international markets, he said.

He called for stronger links between farmers, processors and exporters, alongside wider adoption of contract farming and greater integration of small-scale farmers into value chains.

Local Development and Environment Minister Manal Awad said expanding processing for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and essential oil products was increasingly important to raising the value of Egypt’s agricultural output.

She said the government was developing an integrated service centre for medicinal and aromatic plants in Samasta, Beni Suef governorate, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union.

The centre will include sterilisation and processing units, residue-testing services, and agricultural advisory and marketing support to improve product quality and help producers increase exports and incomes.

The festival is organised with support from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), under a programme aimed at increasing small farmers’ incomes and promoting agricultural innovation.