Browse Data and Analysis

While small local grocers dominate the Egyptian retail market, representing more than 50 percent of sales by value, convenience and price will continue to drive the majority of Egyptian consumer buying decisions, presenting growth opportunities across all retail channels.

On March 12, 2025, the Government of Egypt (GoE) filed a ninth addendum to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) – G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.9 – informing interested parties that it was excluding imports of milk and dairy products from the scope of its Halal certification requirements.

On September 19, 2024, the Government of Egypt filed an eighth addendum to the World Trade Organization's (WTO’s) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) -- G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.8 -- informing interested parties that the time period during which imported milk and dairy products that are not accompanied by a Halal certificate will be permitted to enter Egypt has been extended until December 31, 2025.

Against the backdrop of a series of global shocks, regional conflict, and the war in Ukraine, the Egyptian economy slowed down in 2024 and is projected to recover gradually in the coming years.

In late May 2024, the Egyptian Government announced its intention to increase the price of subsidized bread (from 5 piasters {$.001} per loaf to 20 piasters {$.004} per loaf) as of June 1, 2024 -- marking the first increase in the price of subsidized bread in Egypt in 36 years.

On August 8, 2023, the Government of Egypt filed a sixth addendum to the World Trade Organization's (WTO’s) Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) -- G/TBT/N/EGY/313/Add.6 -- extending the requirement for halal certification for imported milk and dairy products until December 31, 2023.

On June 16, 2023, Egypt notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a new halal requirement and procedure for food products via a Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) addendum notification.

The 2022 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2022 calendar year.

The government of Egypt has yet to publish or notify an official statement regarding the application of halal certification on dairy past the April 1 deadline. However, the industry reports that another extension from fees has been granted for as much as a year.

Egypt notified of new halal requirements and procedures for food products. This was disclosed via a Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) fourth addendum notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The notification waives the halal certification requirement on milk and dairy products until April 1st, 2023.

Egypt has notified new halal requirements and procedures for food products to the World Trade Organization (WTO) via a Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) addendum notification. The notification postpones the halal certification requirement on milk and dairy products until April 1, 2023.

Egypt imported some $3.8 billion worth of consumer-oriented products in 2021. This is a decrease of 8.67 percent from 2020 imports of $4.1 billion. The United States was the third largest exporter to Egypt with approximately $243 million in exports accounting for roughly 6 percent market share. This is an increase of about 19 percent from 2020 export value of $204 million.