High oil import costs led to opening the cultivation of oil crops’ file. He expected a quick jump in oil crops cultivated locally to benefit from the high economic revenue after increasing the cost of imports, which is the good side of the flotation of the pound on the long term. The scientific research conducted by the National Research Centre proved the possibility of oil palms cultivation in the deserts; however, this sector hasn’t seen investments yet. Al Wazeer added that oil palm productivity increases in the desert areas with high humidity, and thus will not affect the main crops’ cultivated spaces. Olive oil is the second-highest oil crop cultivated locally by 50%, and the productivity per acre varies between 3 and 3.5 tonnes.

Source: Daily News Egypt March 20, 2017 07:41 UTC