Main production seasons in Egypt
Egypt has dry hot summers and cool, somewhat humid winters. The Mediteranian climate permits several crops per year.The total acreage of potatoes in Egypt is 85,000 hectares. There are 3 main growing seasons:
Spring crop, autumn crop (Nili crop) and winter crop.
Production seasons Egypt
The average yield is 20 tonnes per hectare. ====
The seed for the spring crop is imported and a part of the harvest is used for planting the fall crop. For the winter crop either imported seed is used or seed tubers kept from the spring season are planted. Tubers that are harvested from the autumn crop can not be used as seed for the following spring crop due to their dormancy.
Seed sources Egypt
Attempts have been made to keep tubers from the spring crop to be used as seed for the next spring season.
In experiments this system gave good results, but there are several reasons (phytosanitary, financial, physiological), that this system has not been used for many years.
Seed sources and acreage
The quantity of seed imported from Europe determines to a great extend the acreage of potatoes grown during the spring season and the following autumn season.
22 % imported seed: 60 000 - 70 000 tonnes .
60 % local seed 'non certified'
18% local seed 'certified'
The local certified seed is used to produce in the autumn and spring crop table potatoes for the export market to Europe.
The local non certified seed is mainly used for the autumn crop production for local use.
Local use and export
The annual consumption per capita is 22 kg . The export market of table potatoes to Europe and Arab countries is about 10 percent of the production.
Part of the foreign exchange earnings through potato export are used to import seed.