Egypt Ranked as World's Biggest Date Producer

Egypt is ranked as the world’s biggest date producer, with an annual production of 1.8 million tonnes from its 16 million harvestable date palms, encompassing between 18% and 24% of total date production in the Middle East. Most of this production is centered in New Valley (which contains the largest date palm plantation in the world), Aswan, Giza, Sharqiyya and Beheira.

Due to its high commercial value and international demand, the date sector is considered one of the country’s most lucrative sectors for achieving economic growth, boosting exports and creating job opportunities. As such, growing the date harvest through a series of vast new modern agricultural projects has been a strategic priority for the Egyptian government.

To date, the most prominent project has been the establishment of the biggest date plantation in the world, originally with 2.3 million date palms, stretching across 40,000 feddans (approximately 41,500 acres) in Toshka, New Valley. Since its establishment in October 2023, the national plantation has grown to 3.6 million date palms.