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Navigate & Discover About GMO's & Approval in Africa

Other Countries

Egypt
Flag-Egypt

Latitude

30.8025°E

Longitude

26.8206°N

Overview

Egypt is characterized by arid desert ecosystems with agriculture concentrated along the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. Approximately 3.8% of the country’s land is arable, supporting wheat, maize, rice, cotton, sugar beet, sugarcane, vegetables and citrus. Major agricultural imports include wheat, maize, soybean and vegetable oils, while exports include citrus, potatoes, onions, grapes and processed horticultural products. Egypt does not commercially cultivate GM crops but permits the importation of certain biotechnology products subject to regulatory authorization. No GM FFP approvals have been publicly recorded.

Hectarage

Area (ha) under GM Crops

Terms & Acronyms

Food, Feed or Processing (FFP)

Genetically Modified (GM)

Note

Commercial Release / General Approval cover Food/Feed Processing approval.

The approval decision on this site are only post 2015.

Biosafety Laws, Regulations
& Guidelines

Ministry of Environment

Egypt’s biosafety framework is administered by the Nature Conservation Sector of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, which serves as the Competent National Authority under the Cartagena Protocol. A national Biosafety Law has been approved by Cabinet and forwarded for promulgation, although it has not yet entered into force. The country is also developing food safety assessment guidelines based on Codex Alimentarius principles and continues to strengthen its biosafety regulatory system.

Select Crop Type

Genetically Modified (GM) Crops Approvals in Egypt

No approval decisions yet

Importation Regulatory Snapshot for
GM Food, Feed, or for Processing

Application Process for GM FFP
Import Permit

1. Applications for GM food, feed and processing imports are submitted to the Competent National Authority.
2. Imported biotechnology products must generally be approved for consumption in their country of origin.
3. Scientific risk assessment is undertaken before authorization is considered.
4. Egypt is developing national food safety assessment guidelines and a policy for low-level presence (LLP) and adventitious presence (AP).
5. Decisions are communicated following completion of the technical review. Permit validity and statutory timelines have not yet been published.

Biosafety Laws, Regulations & Guidelines

Navigate & Discover Everything About GMOs

Langauge

Yes

Does the country plant GM crops?

Since

No. of GM Crops Species