Strawberry increase in Egypt – with penalties for the local weather | EUROtoday

As of: March 1, 2026 • 8:52 a.m

Strawberries are an export hit in Egypt; in Germany they’re largely offered frozen. But the transport and use of pesticides have monumental impacts on the local weather.

Pick strawberries your self and take them dwelling: This can also be potential in Egypt. Belal Ayman traveled together with his spouse and daughter to an natural farm. “It’s a wonderful experience to pick the fruits here with your own hands,” he says, “directly from nature.”

The natural farm is a well-liked tour vacation spot for well-off Egyptian households. In the nation on the Nile it’s an exception: natural is a tiny area of interest right here, and only a few strawberries which can be grown in Egypt are offered and consumed there.

Most of them go overseas: According to the Egyptian Food Export Association, their export worth has virtually doubled in comparison with the earlier yr, to round 650 million {dollars}. This implies that for the primary time they’re primary among the many nation’s most exported meals – and an essential financial issue for Egypt.

Boom by new varieties

Yasser Hammad is glad in regards to the strawberry increase. The entrepreneur advises a number of farmers on rising and harvesting the fruits. The increase lately additionally has to do with new varieties, he says: “Varieties with high yields that are better able to withstand diseases and are well suited to our climatic conditions.”

In Egypt it will be far too sizzling for strawberries in summer season, so winter is the harvest time for the fruit. This can also be what makes Egyptian strawberries so enticing for export to Europe. Another motive: the low labor prices in Egypt. They be certain that the strawberries are comparatively low-cost regardless of the transport prices.

Little water in Egypt

Yasser Hammad calls strawberries “red gold”. His firm is within the Nile Delta, essentially the most fertile area in Egypt. Agriculture can solely be practiced on 4 p.c of Egypt’s space, and in lots of locations there’s a lack of water. Given Egypt’s quickly rising inhabitants, it’s changing into more and more troublesome to offer everybody with water and meals.

Nevertheless, a lot of what’s grown is exported. Germany is a vital purchaser for strawberries. Here, Egyptian strawberries are normally offered frozen; the transport route could be too far for recent strawberries.

“More dangerous pesticides are often approved”

Transport is among the the reason why the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) advises in opposition to shopping for strawberries from distant nations similar to Egypt. “Strawberries are very susceptible to fungal diseases,” says Corinna Hölzel, pesticide knowledgeable at BUND. Fresh strawberries would due to this fact should be handled once more with pesticides particularly for transport.

However, Hölzel doesn’t think about frozen strawberries to be innocent both, as pesticides are additionally used throughout cultivation. “In the countries of the global south there is often weaker legislation,” she says: “More dangerous pesticides are often permitted and there are also fewer controls.”

Residues should be beneath the restrict values

Yasser Hammad disagrees: He names varied rules from the Egyptian authorities that regulate the usage of pesticides. But exporting the fruit is now not his job.

The truth is: When imported into the EU, the residues of pesticides should be beneath sure limits. According to Hölzel, the checks are solely carried out randomly; if the restrict values ​​are exceeded, there are not any critical penalties. “In general, when it comes to food, we see that imported goods are usually more contaminated and also exceed the limit values ​​more often than EU goods and especially German goods,” she says.

The manufacturing of pesticides harms the local weather

The use of pesticides is just not solely problematic for well being causes, but in addition with regard to the local weather. “Pesticides and mineral fertilizers are made from fossil energy sources,” says Hölzel, “from petroleum and coal.” The manufacturing course of may be very energy-intensive. “This also requires fossil fuels, usually natural gas.”

If you’re taking all of the components collectively – the usage of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, the packaging and eventually the transport to Europe – then you definately come to the conclusion that the import of fruit from nations like Egypt locations a excessive burden on the local weather.

Good cash for exhausting work

For the Egyptian economic system, nevertheless, the strawberry increase is a chance. Om Habiba works as a picker on one of many plantations within the Nile Delta. “We used to only work until lunchtime,” she says. “Now there is sometimes a second shift and therefore a higher daily wage.” She is glad about that as a result of the price of dwelling in Egypt has risen enormously lately.

Working with the strawberries is tough, the fixed bending over, for instance. “But God gives us strength.” They wish to use the cash that she and her husband earn as harvest employees to finance a great training for his or her two daughters – in order that they’ll later earn cash with one other career.