Egyptian food retail market grows stronger despite challenges

Egypt continues to maintain its position as the Arab world’s largest consumer market. With an estimated 92 million citizens and one of the world’s fastest growing populations, the demand for food products will continue to grow. Although the country faced various economic challenges following the 2011 and 2013 regime changes and subsequent decreases in tourism revenues, the economic reforms adopted in late 2016 are beginning to bear fruit and become more apparent over the course of 2017. Analysts expect an improvement in economic growth and an increase in purchasing power during the coming years, as well as increased disposable incomes, which in turn should translate into more demand for imported food products, according to the “2016 Annual Retail Foods Egypt” report published by the Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN).