Lebanon, Egypt agree on roadmap for agriculture and food sectors

BEIRUT — Lebanon and Egypt have agreed on a multi-year roadmap aimed at boosting “sustainable food security and agricultural innovation,” Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said after leading a Lebanese delegation to Cairo from Aug. 26 to 28.

The plan marks a shift “from occasional cooperation to institutional and structured integration,” Hani said, following talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Alaa Farouk, during the fifth session of the countries’ joint agricultural technical committee.

The initiative, officials said, comes amid a fragile regional backdrop of shrinking water resources, falling productivity and rising costs in production and supply chains. Memoranda of understanding to implement the roadmap are expected to be signed in October.

Lebanon has experienced a particularly dry year, which has driven up prices for certain products. In neighboring Syria, the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government was followed by the worst drought in six decades. Egypt, meanwhile, has long faced a chronic water shortage that UNICEF and other organizations have warned could soon reach critical levels.

According to a joint statement, the roadmap is designed to be “concrete” and span several years, with goals that include:

• Expanding agricultural trade, notably by increasing Egyptian imports of Lebanese apples.
• Forming joint scientific committees focused on climate, irrigation, water, livestock, aquaculture and cooperatives.
• Launching training and exchange programs for researchers and farmers.
• Preparing two agreements — one scientific, one developmental — for signing in October 2025.
• Creating, by January 2026, a joint platform for exporters, importers and investors.

“Egypt considers Lebanon a strategic partner because of its geographic location, the quality of its agricultural products, and its access to European and African markets,” Farouk said. “This turns cooperation into a genuine joint platform for integrated export and marketing.”

Agricultural trade between the two countries has often been fraught, strained by disputes over import quotas and Egyptian duties on Lebanese goods.

Customs data show Lebanon imported nearly $1 billion worth of Egyptian products of all kinds last year, while exporting only $135 million in return — figures that include goods transiting through both countries for re-export.

According to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, trade between the two countries is valued at about $1 billion annually, with Egyptian goods making up three-quarters of the total. Egyptian exports of fruit and vegetables stood at $48 million, while sugar and related products reached $41 million. Lebanon’s exports totaled $72 million over the same period.