ASSESSMENT OF VEGETABLE SEED PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY
IN THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION
Ayman ABOU-HADID
Professor of Horticulture, Director, Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate
Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, EGYPT

1. VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN NENA REGION

According to the FAO yearbook (1997), the major producers of vegetables in the Near East and North Africa region are in Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan. The most important crops are tomato (458,000 ha), potato (478,000 ha), watermelon (284,000 ha), melon (181,000 ha), cucumber (87,000 ha) and green beans (85,000 ha). The highest vegetable production in the region is in Turkey (642,000 ha), followed by Egypt (543,000 ha) and then Morocco (132,000 ha). Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, and Libya produce the same crops in less than 75,000 ha each. The amount of seed utilized for these crops are particularly high in Egypt and Turkey (FAO, 1998). The cultivated areas for some other crops including potato and sweet potatoes are presented by FAO (1997, 1998). Turkey produces potato in about 225,000 ha, followed by Egypt (113,000 ha) and then Morocco (66,000 ha). FAO (1997) also has data on other vegetable crops that are grown in a limited area and some vegetables that are normally propagated by seedlings or vegetative reproduction. Among these crops, potato is the most important crop in the region. Most of the tubers are imported from countries outside the region.

Protected cultivation in the NENA region includes glass houses, polyethylene houses and low tunnels. This vegetable cropping system is important in Turkey (33,833.6 ha), Egypt (17,200 ha), Morocco (5,530 ha), Tunisia (3,486 ha), Syria (2,250 ha) and Jordan (1,140 ha). In Turkey and Egypt, low tunnels are of a significant importance.

It is interesting to note the differences in the FAO and the Arab Organization for Agricultural development estimates on area cultivated by vegetable crops (FAO, 1997; 1998; Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, 1997). In many cases, the area cultivated of a given vegetable was sometimes twice in one source compared to the other. This indicates that efforts should be made to obtain more accurate estimation of regional production of vegetable. FAO (1998) has information vegetable productivity per unit area and total production for some vegetable crops in the NENA region.

Based on the above-mentioned information and data presented in Table 1, it is estimated that vegetable crops occupy 1.36 million hectares in the NENA region. This demonstrates the importance of vegetable crop production in the regional economy. The importance of vegetable crop production is clearer when the net income of areas cultivated with high cash income generated vegetable crops is compared to that of other crops.

FAO (1997, 1998) indicated large variability in productivity of almost all the vegetable crops per unit area in different countries. One reason that accounts for such variability related to the lower quality of seed used in open field vegetable cultivation throughout the region. Countries, which utilize higher quality seeds, usually improve the productivity. This is quite clear when the average yield of protected cultivation is compared to that of open field vegetable production in different countries. Another possible reason for the differences in productivity among countries in the region could be that cultivars that were bred for other climatic regions and/or to be cultivated in different soils or planting dates were used. These points introduce the importance of using high quality seeds that are specifically developed for the region.

2. ASSESSMENT OF VEGETABLE SEED PRODUCTION

According to FAO (1987), only Turkey and Egypt have plans for vegetable seed production and vegetable seed quality control. National needs of seed of some vegetable crops were estimated based on the total area of vegetable crop production in the countries of the region and the seeding rate per unit area. To a great extent, activities related to variety improvement, evaluation and maintenance were left to governmental research institutes. However, numerous drawbacks of governmental operations in seed production have been noticed in the last decades in countries of the region. Due to lower quality of production, this situation has contributed to a marked deterioration and losses of farm incomes and imbalances in imports and exports. The lack of well-established vegetable seed industries has resulted in an increase of imports of more superior seeds to the region. In most countries, about 100% of seed required for protected vegetable cultivation are imported. However, much of the imported seeds are not well adapted to the local environment. This leads to crop failures and in the process farmers who have lost faith in traders. It is now clear that seed production requires the long-term involvement of experienced scientists along with suitable funds.

Breeder, foundation and registered seed production is a non-commercialized process under the responsibility of governments. However, due to current governmental conditions, breeder and foundation seeds have suffered in quality.

Seed processing, storage, distribution, and quality are inter-related issues. The major bulk of produced vegetable seed is processed either manually or at government facilities, which normally only process rice and wheat seeds. Some private companies have recently built facilities to ensure quality of vegetable seeds. Storage is often in the open and is certainly not conducted in properly conditioned facilities.

Private companies in the region should take the lead in vegetable seed production. It is recommended that such companies work towards fulfilling vegetable seed requirements of the region using state of the art technologies and local knowledge and experience. It is not possible for these companies to compete on the regional or international level without international collaboration. Local companies that are already involved in seed production should be encouraged to work closely with national scientists in the field of vegetable breeding working in the National Research Systems (NARS). In order to achieve this goal, contracts should be established between researchers or research institutions and the seed industry.

3. ESTIMATION OF SEED SUPPLY SOURCES IN THE REGION

Statistics related to the estimation of seed supply sources in the region are not readily available. The author has therefore had to rely on personal correspondence with scientists in the region to collect relevant information. As Turkey and Egypt are the main vegetable producers in this area, information on these two countries is available.

3.1 Saudi Arabia

The area of vegetable crops in Saudi Arabia has been estimated by Al-Harbi (unpublished data) to be 156000 ha. Based on this information, the need for imported vegetable seeds in Saudi Arabia is estimated as follows:

• tomato has 27,676 ha cultivated area, which requires 29.0 tons of seed;
• watermelon has 25,676 ha of cultivated area requiring 29.1 tons of seed;
• onion has 14,213 ha for that are cultivated and requires 252.9 tons;
• okra has 10,602 ha, that are cultivated and requires for 84.3 tons;
• squash has 8,220 ha, that are cultivated and requires 22.9 tons;
• melon has 84,11 ha, that are cultivated and requires 18.8 tons;
• eggplant has 6,517 ha, that are cultivated and requires 6.4 tons;
• cucumber has 5,481 ha, that are cultivated and requires 16.4 tons;
• carrot has 3,004 ha. that are cultivated and requires 0.9 tons of seed; and
• others have 28,420 ha.

3.2 Lebanon

Lebanon imports a considerable amount of vegetable seed. According to unpublished data, Lebanon imports about 18,000 tons of potato seed annually. For example, no records for the imported quantities of seeds for other vegetables are available. (Yousef Abou Jawdah, personal communication).

3.3 Egypt

The annual production of certified seeds in Egypt in 1998 is presented in Table1. ICARDA (1997) and Agrawal (1986) have presented detailed studies on the production of vegetable seeds in Egypt and the cash value of seeds of vegetable crops. The summaries of these studies are presented in annexes 7 and 8.

Table 1. Annual amount of certified seeds produced in Egypt in 1998.

Crop	Amount of certified seeds (tons)	Imported seeds (%)		Crop	Amount of certified seeds (tons)	Imported seeds (%)
Tomato	95	100		Cauliflower	6	20
Pepper	13	30		Spinach	60	6
Eggplant	15	8		Okra	85
Water melon	175	8		Jews mallow	130
Cucumber	110	100		Radish	20
Melon	70	20		Turnip	55
Squash	145	5		Lettuce	50	0.1
Green beans	1550	1		Parsley	30
Peas	1100	0.3		Rocket	40
Cow pea	410			Carrot	60	66
Cabbage	13	25		Table beet	4	50

Seed Technology Department, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt, 1998-unpublished data)

3.4 Turkey

The amounts of both imported and production for vegetable seeds in Turkey are presented in the Tables 1 and 2.

Table 2. Imported quantities of seeds (Kg) of F₁ vegetable hybrids in Turkey

Year

Tomato

Cucumber

Pepper

Eggplant

Squash

Melon

Watermelon

1988	1400	19000	--	500	13000	1700	--
1990	7538	35000	--	505	13000	3551	--
1992	4661	32122	110	859	10576	1923	8871

After Tuzel and Eltez, Cited in Abou-Hadid (1997)

Table 3. Local total seed production in Turkey (tones.)

	Vegetable	Field Crops	Forage Crops	Oil Seeds	Potato	Total Market
Local	1563.0	351,759.4	4,403.0	4,002.0	23,327.0	385,054.4

After Tuzel, personal communication.

There are mainly two sources of vegetable seeds in most countries in the region. Seeds that are imported from international markets, which are often of high quality and are used in protected cultivation and for some high value cash crops such as potato and strawberry. The second source of seed comes from local seed production, which is in most cases lower in quality resulting in a reduction in productivity of many of the local varieties and cultivars. However, it is not recommended to substitute totally these cultivars with imported seeds when looking for quick improvement in productivity. Although characterized by low productivity, many of the local varieties and cultivars possess a special taste or are resistant to disease or abiotic stresses. Efforts to improve local varieties could result in higher yield while mounting adaptability to local conditions. It is therefore suggested to improve local varieties and regional breeding programs.

4. RELATIVE CASH VALUE OF SEEDS

The protected cultivation of vegetable crops depends mainly on hybrid seeds of high value. For example, the price of one kilogram of non-hybrid cucumber seed in the Egyptian local market is about US$ 60–80. In contrast, the price of a gram of hybrid cucumber seed is US$ 3–3.6 (US$ 3,000–3,600/Kg). In other words, the total cost of seed for open field cucumber (estimated at 272 tons) in the region could be estimated at about US$ 19 million, while the cost of protected cultivation hybrid cucumber seed (estimated at 9.04 tons) in the region is about US$30 millions. This example applies to most vegetable crops in the region.

5. ASSESSMENT OF THE STATUS AND POTENTIAL OF RESEARCH ON VEGETABLE CROPS

The region has a wealth of scientific institutions working on vegetable research, including seed production and technologies. One of the difficulties researchers working on vegetable breeding face is the fact that it is time consuming. For example, a researcher in vegetable breeding may need to dedicate ten years to produce a new commercial variety, which is considered as one of the conditions for staff promotion that are followed by research organizations and universities. Therefore, it would be helpful if regulations in the field of plant breeding are changed to recognize the difficulties plant breeders face in variety production.

The features of current research on vegetable seed can be summarized as follows:

1. Institutes working in fields related to vegetable crops are available in the region. These institutes conduct research, training and extension activities in different fields of horticulture. Considerable research is done on vegetable crop production as well as variety trials in most of the national research organizations.
2. Staff working in most of these institutes are national, well-educated personnel. In some of the countries the staff includes expatriates.
3. Experimental field stations and facilities are available throughout the region.
4. Most of the organizations working in agricultural research produce their own publications, which make information available for the scientific community.
5. In most cases, funds are available to conduct research related to vegetable production in general, not necessarily on seed production or breeding programs.
6. Some countries have seed evaluation and registration programs.
7. A limited number of countries have programs for breeding vegetable crops, but with modest access to the seed production industry.
8. A limited number of countries have facilities for DNA mapping and biotechnology.

6. ROLE OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN VEGETABLE CROP SEED SECTOR

The role of national and international institutions in creating favorable conditions for seed production in the region is quite limited. The FAO has published a document on improved seed production for vegetable seeds as well as other crop seed production (FAO, 1987). This publication can be used as a guide to formulate, execute and evaluate seed production projects.

The national agricultural research systems in the countries of the region have departments of horticulture research or specifically vegetable research. In some countries, such as Egypt, there is a department for vegetable seed research. Such national organizations are the cornerstone of any development related to vegetable seed production. However, it is well known that seed production is an expensive capital investment. The availability of cash together with the low rate of return for seed production projects creates major restrictions for the seed industries. Governments should make available soft loans to encourage growers or investors to take the risk of establishing seed industries. One of the leaders in this approach is the Multi Sectors Support Program (MSSP) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Egypt. This program offers funds for developmental projects in Egypt with a long enough grace period for recipients to pay back the loan. The program has financed two projects for vegetable seed production in the past two years.

Seed programs require time to achieve their goal and should be a collaborative effort between national and international organizations. In order to encourage international donors and institutes to participate in regional and local seed production, the national structure should first be organized to facilitate international cooperation. The identification of local and/or regional programs for vegetable seed production should be the first step in this direction. This includes selection of priorities of crops and a time frame for the proposed developmental program. The program should also take into consideration competitors or collaborators.

7. PROMOTION OF SEED CERTIFICATION AND VARIETY PROTECTION RULES AND REGULATIONS TO FACILITATE VEGETABLE CROP SEED PRODUCTION AND TRADE

The Egyptian experience including regulations for variety testing and legislation for the introduction of new varieties will be considered. The law of agriculture Number 53 (1966) contained modified regulations of seed certification and variety registration in Egypt. This law was the base of a new protocol for variety registration of Agricultural crops issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, ministerial decree number 82 1998. The protocol put into action the protocol to be followed for the registration of all new crop varieties before being permitted to be used in Egypt.

The different institutes of the Agricultural Research Center are responsible for conducting field trials on new plant materials. The reports of tests are to be submitted to the Central Committee for Agricultural Variety Testing. The permission of any variety to be handled in the Egyptian markets or to be used in Egyptian agriculture depends on the approval of the committee after 2-3 years of field trials. Fees to field-test vegetable crops range between 200 and 400 Egyptian pounds (£E) per year and registration fees are between £E 1,500 and £E 4,000 (£E = US$ 0.294).

The test field design is planned and supervised by a technical committee of two plant breeders, specialists in statistical analysis, pest and disease, end user of the crop (consumers or representatives of industry), agricultural economists, and a representative of the endorsement authority in the Ministry of Agriculture. The committee can also include a biotechnology specialist for the analysis of DNA or protein.

The field tests include distinction, uniformity and stability of the variety and tests for the variety performance and the commercial, economical, and industrial value of the product. The tested variety is given a commercial name based on suggestions from the organization submitting the test request.

The Egyptian example could be modified to keep up with the pace of development in the modern vegetable seed industry. One of the possible constraints in this example is the three-year investigation period required to register any new vegetable seed name for trade. Nevertheless, this example illustrates important procedures that protect both the growers and the seed companies.

8. REGIONAL COLLABORATION/COORDINATION IN VEGETABLE CROP VARIETY IMPROVEMENT

One of the most important benefits of regional and international cooperation in vegetable breeding programs is the exchange of germplasm among nations aiming at wider variability for breeders. Up to now, there is no evidence of coordination or collaboration either in vegetable crop variety improvement, extension and dissemination or in seed production and commercialization in the region. The arena is almost left entirely to the international market and to competition between international seed companies. Some of these seed companies have special research and development sites in countries such as Egypt, where Pioneer seeds has a well-organized research and demonstration farm.

The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (1998) has proposed a regional project for hybrid seed production. The proposed project aims to produce vegetable seed to satisfy 10% of the regional demand of the four major vegetables under protected cultivation, which include tomato, cucumber, pepper, and cantaloupe. The capacity of the project is to produce about two tons of seeds annually at a cost of 4 million US Dollars. The proposal was presented to possible investors for funding.

9. IDENTIFICATION OF CONSTRAINTS FOR NATIONAL/ REGIONAL VEGETABLE CROP SEED PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY

1. In relation to production of breeder seed, plant breeders do not have enough financial support to conduct long-term breeding experiments and work.
2. A severe deficit in technical personnel needed to support successful breeding programs.
3. Unavailability of tools and equipment required for the production of seeds and proper storage facilities to keep produced seeds in good condition.
4. Difficulties in exchanging plant materials to be introduced in breeding programs between countries. Some of these problems are related to unsuitable quarantine regulations and others are related to a lack of international contacts.
5. Breeding fields in many cases are not standardized; the segregation distances are often not enough to prevent the mechanical mix up of seeds or the cross pollination among varieties. The end result is the production of lower quality of seeds.
6. Although the funds for research in general is available, there has been a lack of funds to carry out sustainable breeding programs. The participation of the private sector in seed industry has been seriously limited in the past decades.
7. Major seed production companies are hesitant to invest in the seed industry in the region. This is mainly due to political and economic instability.
8. Some of the national governments have established seed production facilities. The capacity of such facilities is often quite limited and the quality of operation is generally below international standards.
9. Most of the countries are slow in establishing national germplasm banks and/or central facilities for plant resource collection. It is only in the recent years that some of the countries have established such facilities or started the efforts to do so.
10. Local seed storage facilities are often not suitable, resulting in the reduction of seed quality in the local markets and contributing to the domination of imported seed over a large sector of horticultural crops, especially vegetable hybrid seeds.
11. The agricultural quarantine regulations are not strictly applied. The result has been the importation of varieties and hybrids of unknown origin, which has led to the deterioration of many local varieties.
12. Difficulties in the registration of new varieties surrounding time (three years to be accepted as a new variety) and cost. To a large extent, this prevents the new local varieties from being recognized in the local markets.

10. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Vegetable production in the NENA region is an important sector of agriculture.
• Vegetable seed, especially in protected cultivation, is a major component of agricultural production.
• Seeds are generally dependent on either local production of low quality seeds or imports of high quality hybrid seeds.
• In the recent past the seed industry in the region has been dependent on governmental organizations, which have faced lots of difficulties.
• Cost involved in the vegetable hybrid seed industry is high with a low internal rate of return for the projects.
• Projects related to seed production in the region are quite limited.
• The national capacity for seed production is in research and technical institutions.

• Small vegetable production companies cannot compete inside regional or international markets of vegetable seeds.
• The private sector should be encouraged to participate in vegetable seed production.
• Joint ventures for seed production is one of the most reasonable strategies for developing seed production in the region.

11. REFERENCES

Abou-Hadid. 1997. A contribution towards a data base for protected cultivation in the Mediterranean region." FAO Regional Working Group publication.

Agrawal, R.L, 1986. Seed technology. Oxford &IBH publications. New Delhi. Agricultural Research Center Publication Egypt. 1993.

Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. 1998. National meeting for the protected cultivation officials, Rabat, Morocco, 17-19 June (1996).

Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. 1997. Statistics Yearbook.

FAO 1998 (http://www.fao.org) and FAO yearbook vol. 51, 1997.

FAO 1987: Improved Seed Production. Plant production and protection, Rome.

ICARDA,. 1997. Protected cultivation in Arab region, in protected agriculture. ICARDA. Statistical yearbook- Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, ARE, 1998.

Contact persons for unpublished data or personal communications:

ABOU-JAWDAH Y.A.; American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Abujawyf@aub.edu.lb

Al-Harbi , A., King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. E mail aharbi@ksu.edu.sa

TUZEL, Y; Ege University - Izmir – Turkey. tuzel@ziraat.ege.edu.tr

 

Annex 1 - Area of vegetable crops and estimation of seeds inputs in some countries of NENA region
Country Crop			Egypt			Morocco				Tunisia			Turkey			Jordan				Yemen				Libya
			Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )	Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )		Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )	Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )	Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )		Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )		Area (Ha)		Seed (Tons )
Asparagus			-------		-------	27,692.3		664,615.4		-------		-------	3.0		72.0	-------		-------		-------		-------		-------		-------
Green Beans			15,000.0		1,260.0	3,000.0		252.0		400.0		33.6	54,800.0		4,603.2	1,748.0		146.8		1,778.0		149.4		-------		-------
Cabbages			18,200.0		6.6	750.0		0.3		1,000.0		0.4	29,600.0		10.7	1,160.0		0.4		90.0		0.0		200.0		0.1
Eggplants			29,000.0		20.9	1,600.0		1.2		-------		-------	32,600.0		23.5	2,800.0		2.0		400.0		33.6		270.0		0.2
Cantaloupes and Melons			20,000.0		52.8	25,000.0		66.0		8,000.0		21.1	116,000.0		306.2	2,000.0		5.3				-------		-------		-------
Okra			5,416.7		130,0	-------		-------		-------		-------	6,100.0		219.6	800.0		28.8		3,000.0		108.0		-------		-------
Green Peas			15,500.0		1,488.0	12,000.0		1,152.0		-------		-------	8,700.0		835.2	238.0		22.8		-------		-------		2,300.0		220.8
Pumpkins and Squash			32,000.0		115.2	6,000.0		21.6		5,000.0		18.0	23,000.0		82.8	2,000.0		7.2		-------		-------		2,500.0		240.0
Spinach			2,850.0		68.4	-------		-------		-------		-------	-------		-------	-------		-------		-------		-------		-------		-------
Tomatoes			175,000.0		126.0	25,000.0		18.0		23,300.0		16.8	158,000.0		113.8	15,019.0		10.8		15,129.0		10.9		9,500.0		6.8
Watermelons			65,000.0		195.0	12,600.0		37.8		27,000.0		81.0	135,000.0		405.0	3,017.0		9.1		7,139.0		21.4		11,000.0		7.9
Cucumbers and Gherkins			18,500.0		66.6	3,300.0		11.9		2,000.0		7.2	49,000.0		176.4	1,500.0		5.4		600.0		2.0		550.0		2.0
Cauliflower			4,800.0		4.6	2,400.0		2.3		360.0		0.3	4,900.0		4.7	1,991.0		1.9		-------		-------		400.0		0.4
Garlic			7,000.0		3,360.0	3,000.0		1,440.0		1,000.0		480.0	14,000.0		6,720.0	1,000.0		480.0		1,000.0		480.0		-------		-------
Carrots			4,250.0		35.7	10,600.0		89.0		5,500.0		46.2	11,000.0		92.4	563.0		4.7		832.0		7.0		5,500.0		46.2
Total			412,516.7		6,929.7	132,942.3		667,707.5		73,560.0		704.6	642,703.0		13,665.4	33,836.0		725.3		29,968.0		788.7		32,220.0		524.4
Source of Area: FAO 1998 (http://www.fao.org) and FAO Yearbook vol. 51, 1997. All values under seed quantities are estimated based on the statistics of cultivated area.
Annex 2 - Area of vegetable crops and estimation of seeds inputs in some countries of NENA region
Country Crop		U A E				Kuwait			Syria				Qatar				Lebanon
		Area		Seed		Area	Seed		Area		Seed		Area	Seed			Area		Seed
		(Ha)		quantities (Tons)		(Ha)	quantities (Tons)		(Ha)		quantities (Tons)		(Ha)	quantities (Tons)			(Ha)		quantities (Tons )
Green Beans		180.0		15.1		45.0	3.8		3,600.0		302.4		-------	-------			3,550.0		298.2
Cabbages		1,000.0		0.4		-------	-------		-------		-------		-------	-------			3,000.0		1.1
Cucumbers and Gherkins		-------		-------		-------	-------		5,000.0		18.0		-------	-------			6,000.0		21.6
Cantaloupes and Melons		-------		-------		-------	-------		8,000.0		21.1		-------	-------			2,000.0		5.3
Eggplants		-------		-------		-------	-------		6,000.0		4.3		-------	-------			2,000.0		1.4
Tomatoes		7,600.0		5.5		460.0	0.3		18,000.0		13.0		330.0	0.2			10,800.0		7.8
Watermelons		197.0		0.6		35.0	0.1		22,970.0		68.9		195.0	0.6			3,800.0		11.4
Cauliflower		350.0		0.3		65.0	0.1		2,448.0		2.4		100.0	0.1			1,950.0		1.9
Carrots		190.0		1.6		32.0	0.3		-------		-------		75.0	0.6			-------		-------
Strawberries		-------		-------		15.0	1,080.0		-------		-------		-------	-------			-------		-------
Potatoes		210.0		504.0		815.0	1,956.0		25,000.0		60,000.0		-------	-------			-------		-------
Total		9,727.0		527.5		1,467.0	3,040.5		91,018.0		430.1		700.0	1.5			33,100.0		348.6
Country   Crop		Egypt				Morocco			Tunisia				Turkey				Jordan				Libyan				Yemen
		Area		Seedling quantities		Area	Seedling quantities		Area		Seedling quantities		Area	Seedling quantities			Area		Seedling quantities		Area		Seedling quantities		Area		Seed quantities
		(Ha)		(1000)		(Ha)	(1000)		(Ha)		(1000)		(Ha)	(1000)			(Ha)		(1000)		(Ha)		(1000)		(Ha)		(1000)
Artichokes		2,300.0		22,080.0		1,860.0	17,856.0		2,700.0		25,920.0		2,100.0	20,160.0			-------		-------		-------		-------		-------		-------
Lettuce		5,800.0		7.0		-------	-------		-------		-------		13,000.0	15.6			811.0		1.0		-------		-------		190.0		0.2
Strawberries		1,800.0		129,600.0		1,000.0	72,000.0		9.0		648.0		8,500.0	612,000.0			-------		-------		-------		-------		-------		-------
Potatoes		113,000.0		271,200.0		66,000.0	158,400.0		22,000.0		52,800.0		225,000.0	540,000.0			4,298.0		10,315.2		18,500.0		44,400.0		-------		-------
Sweet Potatoes		6,420.0		385,200.0		850.0	51,000.0		-------		-------		-------	-------			20.0		1,200.0		-------		-------		15,372.0		36,892.8
Total		129,320.0		808,087.0		69,710.0	299,256.0		24,709.0		79,368.0		248,600.0	1,172,175.6			5,129.0		11,516.2		18,500.0		44,400.0		15,562.0		36,893.0

Source of Area: FAO 1998 (http://www.fao.org) and FAO Year book vol.51, 1997.

All values under seed quantities are estimated based on the statistics of cultivated area.

Annex 3 - Productivity of some vegetable crops in some countries of NENA region

Country	Egypt	Morocco	Tunisia	Turkey	Jordan	Yemen	Libya	U A E	Kuwait	Syrian Arab	Qatar	Lebanon	Average
	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield	Yield
Crop	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)	(T/Ha)
Artichokes	13.3	13.4	92.6	11.7	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	32.7
Asparagus	-------	1.3	-------	5.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	3.2
Green Beans	9.8	7.0	6.8	8.3	12.0	5.5	-------	8.3	16.9	9.0	-------	10.6	9.4
Cabbages	25.8	26.7	-------	23.0	24.4	9.2	15.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	20.7
Eggplants	19.3	13.8	-------	26.1	25.0	8.3	14.4	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	17.8
Cantaloupes and Melons	27.5	16.6	-------	-------	-------		-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	22.1
Okra	0.6	-------	-------	4.3	3.5	6.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	3.6
Lettuce	23.6	-------	-------	17.3	23.4	4.5	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	17.2
Green Peas	8.7	3.3	-------	5.7	4.6	-------	2.4	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	5.0
Pumpkins and Squash	17.8	33.3	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	25.6
Spinach	16.3	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	16.3
Strawberries	20.8	10.0	5.6	12.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	19.3	-------	-------	-------	13.5
Tomatoes	34.2	41.6	28.5	41.8	42.6	14.9	14.2	72.4	76.1	26.0	29.1	29.2	37.5
Watermelons	25.4	18.0	11.0	26.7	23.2	12.6	-------	21.0	31.4	11.8	9.7	25.0	19.6
Potatoes	17.7	18.2	13.2	23.6	25.6	12.7	7.3	21.4	39.3	22.1	-------	24.0	20.5
Sweet Potatoes	24.1	21.2	-------	-------	1.5	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	15.6
Cucumbers and Gherkins	13.9	7.9	-------	28.6	83.3	20.0	29.1	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	30.5
Cauliflower	22.9	19.8	20.0	18.2	23.1	-------	8.8	25.7	36.9	24.7	12.0	23.1	21.4
Carrots	25.9	21.5	7.3	20.0	20.5	8.5	4.0	21.1	40.6	-------	11.3	-------	18.1

Source: FAO 1998 (http://www.fao.org)

 

Annex 4 - Total production of some vegetable crops in some countries of NENA region

Country	Egypt	Morocco	Tunisia	Turkey	Jordan	Yemen	Libya	U A E	Kuwait	Syrian Arab	Qatar	Lebanon	Total
	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production	Production
Crop	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)	(1000 Ton)
Artichokes	30.5	25.0	250.0	24.5	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	330.0
Asparagus	-------	36.0	-------	0.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	36.0
Green Beans	2,100.0	21.0	2.7	455.0	21.0	9.8	-------	1.5	0.8	32.4	-------	-------	2,644.2
Cabbages	470.0	20.0	-------	681.0	28.4	0.8	3.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	1,203.2
Eggplants	560.0	22.0	-------	850.0	70.0	3.3	3.9	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	1,509.2
Cantaloupes and Melons	550.0	415.0	-------	-------	-------	0.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	965.0
Okra	7.4	-------	-------	26.0	2.8	18.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	54.2
Lettuce	137.0	-------	-------	225.0	19.0	0.9	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	381.9
Green Peas	135.0	40.0	-------	50.0	1.1	-------	5.5	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	231.6
Pumpkins and Squash	570.0	200.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	770.0
Spinach	46.5	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	46.5
Strawberries	37.5	10.0	0.0	102.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	0.3	-------	-------	-------	149.8
Tomatoes	5,980.0	1,040.0	663.0	6,600.0	640.0	225.2	135.0	550.0	35.0	468.4	9.6	9.6	16,355.8
Watermelons	1,650.0	227.0	296.0	3,600.0	70.0	89.7		4.1	1.1	272.0	1.9	1.9	6,213.8
Potatoes	2,000.0	1,200.0	290.0	5,300.0	110.0	195.6	135.0	4.5	32.0	552.6	-------	-------	9,819.7
Sweet Potatoes	155.0	18.0	-------	-------	0.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	173.0
Cucumbers and Gherkins	258.0	26.0	-------	1,400.0	125.0	12.0	16.0	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	1,837.0
Cauliflower	110.0	47.5	7.2	89.0	46.0	-------	3.5	9.0	2.4	60.4	1.2	1.2	377.4
Carrots	110.0	228.0	40.0	220.0	11.6	7.1	22.0	4.0	1.3	-------	0.8	0.8	645.6

Annex 5 - Area of vegetable crops under protected cultivation and estimation of seedlings inputs in some countries of NENA region
Crop     Country	Pepper		Strawberries		Tomatoes		Cucumbers		Cantaloupes and Water Melons		Green Beans		Eggplants
	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities	Area	Seedling quantities
	(Ha)	( 1000)	(Ha)	(1000)	(Ha)	( 1000)	(Ha)	( 1000)	(Ha)	( 1000)	(Ha)	( 1000)	(Ha)	( 1000)
Turkey	2,748.0	65,952.0	-------		7,538.0	180,912.0	3,852.0	92,448.0	13,429.0	322,296.0	------		2,403.0	57,672.0
Egypt	2,948.4	69,374.1	-------	-------	3,061.8	72,042.4	3,628.8	85,383.5	1,701.0	40,023.5	-------	-------	-------	-------
Morocco	1,540.0	36,235.3	1,925.0	45,294.1	1,925.0	45,294.1	1,540.0	36,235.3	770.0	18,117.6	-------	-------	-------	-------
Libya	400.0	9,411.8	-------	-------	600.0	14,117.6	800.0	18,823.5	100.0	2,352.9	-------	-------	100.0	2,352.9
Jordan	229.6	5,402.4	-------	-------	126.3	2,971.3	719.8	16,936.4	-------	-------	70.0	1,647.7	-------	-------
Lebanon	14.3	335.9	-------	-------	362.3	8,525.6	148.2	3,487.8	-------	-------	12.1	284.2	12.0	282.9
Syria	350.4	8,245.8	-------	-------	1,206.5	28,387.1	344.7	8,110.6	-------	-------	-------	-------	12.6	297.4
Kuwait	20.0	470.6	-------	-------	120.0	2,823.5	240	5,647.1	-------	-------	8.0	188.2	12.0	282.4
U A E	39.2	922.4	-------	-------	19.6	461.2	117.6	2,767.1	-------	-------	19.6	461.2	-------	-------
Qatar	1.4	33.1	-------	-------	3.3	76.8	58.9	1,385.4	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------	-------
Total	8,291.3	196,383.4	1,925.0	45,294.1	14,962.8	327,224.5	11,450.0	271,224.7	16,000.0	382,790.5	109.706	2,581.3	2,539.6	60,887.0
Est. seed (ton)	-------	1.50	-------		-------	1.45	-------	9.04	-------	15.31	-------	0.68	-------	0.470
Source of area: Protected cultivation in Arab region, in protected agriculture (1997). ICARDA
All value under seedling quantities are estimated based on the statistics of cultivated area.

Annex 6 - Area of vegetable crops and estimation of seeds inputs in some countries of NENA region*
Crop     Country	Tomatoes		Watermelons and Melons		Cucumbers and Gherkins		Cabbage & Cauliflower		Green Pea		Eggplant
	Area	Seed quantities	Area	Seed quantities	Area	Seed quantities	Area	Seed quantities	Area	Seed quantities	Area	Seed quantities
	(Ha)	( Tons)	(Ha)	( Tons)	(Ha)	(Tons)	(Ha)	( Tons)	(Ha)	( Tons)	(Ha)	( Tons)
Egypt	154,050.00	110.92	51,500.00	148.32	23,623.00	85.04	16,556.00	10.93	15,826.00	1,519.30	20,638.00	14.86
Morocco	19,980.00	14.39	31,420.00	90.49	3,260.00	11.74	2,320.00	1.53	11,260.00	1,080.96	1,800.00	1.30
Libya	8,200.00	5.90	13,800.00	39.74	660.00	2.38	554.00	0.37	3,754.00	360.38	3,270.00	2.35
Jordan	13,900.00	10.01	5,200.00	14.98	1,840.00	6.62	2,760.00	1.82	82.00	7.87	2,058.00	1.48
Lebanon	12,600.00	9.07	4,300.00	12.38	5,898.00	21.23	3,662.00	2.42	1,054.00	101.18	2,802.00	2.02
Syria	20,900.00	15.05	38,200.00	110.02	14,330.00	51.59	5,090.00	3.36	2,024.00	194.30	5,842.00	4.21
Kuwait	300.00	0.22	50.00	0.14	242.00	0.87	42.00	0.03	-------	-------	96.00	0.07
U A E	4,400.00	3.17	814.00	2.34	214.00	0.77	2,136.00	1.41	-------	-------	970.00	0.70
Qatar	300.00	0.22	386.00	1.11	222.00	0.80	210.00	0.14	-------	-------	142.00	0.10
Tunisia	22,140.00	15.94	34,340.00	98.90	-------	-------	254.00	0.17	11,806.00	1,133.38	-------	-------
Yemen	12,500.00	9.00	10,600.00	30.53	538.00	1.94	104.00	0.07	-------	-------	366.00	0.26
Total	269,270.00	193.87	190,610.00	548.96	50,827.00	182.98	33,688.00	22.23	45,806.00	4,397.38	37,984.00	27.35
Quantities of seeds (Kg/Ha)		0.72		2.88		3.6		0.66		96		0.72
*Source of Area: Arab Organization For Agricultural Development (Statistics Yearbook), 17,Dec., 1997.

Annex 7 - Area of vegetable crops and estimation of seeds and seedlings inputs in Egypt from 1991 to 1996
1a-Seeds
Crops	1991		1992		1993		1994		1995		1996
	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)	Area Ha	Seed quantities (Tons)
Tomato	136,666.67	98.40	150,833.33	108.60	146,250.00	105.30	141,250.00	101.70	147,916.67	106.50	171,666.67	123.60
Squash	22,083.33	79.50	20,416.67	73.50	23,750.00	85.50	27,083.33	97.50	25,833.33	93.00	27,500.00	99.00
Green Bean	13,333.33	1,120.00	12,500.00	1,050.00	14,166.67	1,190.00	15,416.67	1,295.00	16,666.67	1,400.00	20,416.67	1,715.00
Dry Bean	12,083.33	1,015.00	9,583.33	805.00	6,666.67	560.00	7,500.00	630.00	8,750.00	735.00	9,166.67	770.00
Green Cowpea	1,666.67	160.00	2,083.33	200.00	1,666.67	160.00	4,166.67	400.00	5,416.67	520.00	4,583.33	440.00
Dry Cowpea	5,000.00	480.00	2,083.33	200.00	3,333.33	320.00	5,000.00	480.00	6,250.00	600.00	4,166.67	400.00
Green Peas	9,166.67	880.00	17,500.00	1,680.00	18,750.00	1,800.00	10,416.67	1,000.00	20,833.33	2,000.00	11,250.00	1,080.00
Dry Peas	416.67	40.00	1,250.00	120.00	833.33	80.00	12,916.67	1,240.00	416.67	40.00	9,166.67	880.00
Cabbage	15,000.00	18.00	15,416.67	18.50	15,416.67	18.50	17,500.00	21.00	17,083.33	20.50	16,250.00	19.50
Cauliflower	3,750.00	3.60	4,166.67	4.00	4,166.67	4.00	4,583.33	4.40	5,000.00	4.80	4,583.33	4.40
Eggplant	18,750.00	13.50	16,666.67	12.00	20,833.33	15.00	20,416.67	14.70	18,750.00	13.50	25,000.00	18.00
Pepper	17,083.33	10.25	15,000.00	9.00	18,333.33	11.00	16,666.67	10.00	17,083.33	10.25	22,500.00	13.50
Okra	5,000.00	120.00	5,000.00	120.00	5,000.00	120.00	5,000.00	120.00	5,416.67	130.00	5,416.67	130.00
Jews mallow	3,333.33	72.00	4,166.67	90.00	4,583.33	99.00	4,166.67	90.00	3,750.00	81.00	3,750.00	81.00
Spinach	2,500.00	60.00	2,083.33	50.00	2,083.33	50.00	2,500.00	60.00	2,916.67	70.00	2,500.00	60.00
Egyptian mallow	416.67	50.00	416.67	50.00	416.67	50.00	416.67	50.00	416.67	50.00	416.67	50.00
Radish	833.33	14.00	1,250.00	21.00	1,666.67	28.00	1,250.00	21.00	833.33	14.00	833.33	14.00
Tomato	136,666.67	98.40	150,833.33	108.60	146,250.00	105.30	141,250.00	101.70	147,916.67	106.50	171,666.67	123.60
Turnip	2,500.00	18.00	2,500.00	18.00	2,083.33	15.00	2,083.33	15.00	2,916.67	21.00	2,500.00	18.00
Lettuce	5,416.67	6.50	5,416.67	6.50	5,416.67	6.50	5,416.67	6.50	5,000.00	6.00	5,416.67	6.50
Carrot	3,750.00	36.00	3,333.33	32.00	4,166.67	40.00	4,166.67	40.00	4,583.33	44.00	4,166.67	40.00
Parsley	2,083.33	50.00	1,666.67	40.00	1,666.67	40.00	1,666.67	40.00	1,666.67	40.00	1,666.67	40.00
Rocket	2,083.33	20.00	2,083.33	20.00	2,083.33	20.00	1,666.67	16.00	1,666.67	16.00	1,250.00	12.00
Egyptian leek	833.33	44.00	833.33	44.00	833.33	44.00	833.33	44.00	833.33	44.00	833.33	44.00
Local melon	3,333.33	10.00	2,916.67	8.75	2,500.00	7.50	8,750.00	26.25	7,500.00	22.50	7,916.67	23.75
Melon	14,166.67	51.00	11,666.67	42.00	10,000.00	36.00	6,666.67	24.00	8,333.33	30.00	11,250.00	40.50
Cantaloupe	7,500.00	27.00	5,833.33	21.00	15,000.00	54.00	17,916.67	64.50	10,416.67	37.50	12,916.67	46.50
Cucumber	15,416.67	55.50	15,833.33	57.00	18,750.00	67.50	17,083.33	61.50	18,333.33	66.00	23,333.33	84.00
Snake cucumber	3,333.33	6.00	3,333.33	6.00	5,000.00	9.00	3,750.00	6.75	6,250.00	11.25	5,000.00	9.00
Total 1a & 1b	327,500	4558.00	335,833	4907.00	355,417	5036.00	366,250	5979.75	370,833	6227.25	415,417	6262.25
1b-Seedlings
Crops	1991		1992		1993		1994		1995		1996
	Area	Seedling	Area	Seedling	Area	Seedling	Area	Seedling	Area	Seedling	Area	Seedling
	Ha	quantities (1000)	Ha	quantities (1000)	Ha	quantities (1000)	Ha	quantities (1000)	Ha	quantities (1000)	Ha	quantities (1000)
**Potato	87,500.00	157,500.00	69,166.60	124,499.88	55,000.00	99,000.00	64,166.60	115,499.88	82,500.00	148,500.00	95,000.00	171,000.00
Sweet potato	4,583.33	275,000.00	3,750.00	225,000.00	5,416.67	325,000.00	6,250.00	375,000.00	5,000.00	300,000.00	6,250.00	375,000.00
Artichoke	2,500.00	24,000.00	2,083.33	20,000.00	2,083.33	20,000.00	1,250.00	12,000.00	2,083.33	20,000.00	2,083.33	20,000.00
Strawberry	2,083.33	150,000.00	1,666.67	120,000.00	1,666.67	120,000.00	1,666.67	120,000.00	1,666.67	120,000.00	1,666.67	120,000.00
Total	96,667	606,500	76,667	489,500	64,167	564,000	73,333	622,500	91,250	588,500	105,000	686,000
**Tubers (Ton)
* Source of Area: Statistical Yearbook- Central Agency for Public mobilization and Statistics, ARE, 19998

 

Annex 8: Quantity and value of vegetable seeds in Egypt for a period from 1987 to 1991

Year Crops	1987		1988		1989		1990		1991
	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E
Potato ( ton )	201,993.0	94,704.0	211,384.0	98,612.0	167,512.0	119,598.0	201,766.0	193,121.0	191,902.0	208,836.0
Tomato (k/g)	90,200.0	108,240.0	90,343.0	117,449.0	95,616.0	133,864.0	92,744.0	14,839.0	73,797.0	12,619.0
Squash (k/g)	96,880.0	7,750.0	97,218.0	971.0	87,852.0	1,055.0	89,721.0	1,346.0	92,763.0	1,484.0
Bean (k/g)	2,393,600.0	4,787.0	2,007,640.0	6,023.0	1,859,360.0	7,437.0	2,084,760.0	10,423.0	2,461,320.0	14,768.0
Cow pea (k/g)	384,360.0	576.0	417,270.0	1,044.0	275,430.0	824.0	321,990.0	1,128.0	458,190.0	1,833.0
Cabbage (k/g)	8,950.0	716.0	9,680.0	968.0	8,401.0	877.0	8,776.0	1,226.0	9,028.0	144.0
Eggplant (k/g)	10,640.0	1,277.0	10,050.0	1,408.0	9,964.0	1,590.0	10,285.0	1,851.0	11,344.0	2,189.0
Pepper (k/g)	7,929.0	1,427.0	8,206.0	1,477.0	8,174.0	1,798.0	8,584.0	2,146.0	9,113.0	2,442.0
Okra (k/g)	34,343.0	172.0	32,585.0	162.0	30,937.0	185.0	35,363.0	283.0	37,820.0	340.0
Cauliflower (k/g)	2,080.0	250.0	1,938.0	272.0	1,533.0	213.0	1,902.0	304.0	1,841.0	315.0
Peas (k/g)	854,385.0	3,408.0	977,690.0	2,932.0	925,680.0	4,628.0	880,320.0	5,282.0	793,905.0	5,557.0
Spinach (k/g)	17,216.0	52.0	7,082.0	21.0	10,922.0	44.0	11,992.0	48.0	11,978.0	48.0
Jews mallow (k/g)	17,633.0	53.0	17,906.0	71.0	12,337.0	50.0	9,295.0	28.0	10,473.0	63.0
Radish (k/g)	4,977.0	25.0	5,447.0	27.0	9,187.0	56.0	4,764.0	28.0	4,036.0	26.0
Carrot (k/g)	35,853.0	896.0	31,602.0	948.0	29,463.0	1,031.0	19,944.0	798.0	31,808.0	1,368.0
Turnip (k/g)	21,909.0	66.0	24,504.0	73.0	18,207.0	63.0	18,141.0	73.0	18,969.0	76.0
Lettuce (k/g)	7,020.0	105.0	6,770.0	115.0	5,979.0	120.0	6,627.0	146.0	6,559.0	157.0
Parsley (k/g)	3,460.0	15.0	3,917.0	19.0	4,378.0	24.0	3,704.0	22.0	4,975.0	32.0
Rocket (k/g)	16,325.0	73.0	8,917.0	44.0	9,587.0	53.0	21,862.0	131.0	7,312.0	48.0
Water melon (k/g)	254,107.0	3,812.0	250,940.0	5,019.0	238,487.0	3,815.0	235,172.0	7,055.0	203,846.0	6,523.0
Melon (k/g)	31,821.0	796.0	54,604.0	1,365.0	53,553.0	1,606.0	35,487.0	1,419.0	40,024.0	1,721.0
Cucumber (k/g)	53,778.0	1,076.0	47,206.0	1,182.0	50,773.0	1,777.0	42,926.0	1,502.0	46,241.0	1,988.0
Cantaloupe (k/g)	1,222.0	41.0	19,137.0	618.0	11,617.0	676.0	9,316.0	324.0	10,639.0	640.0
Snake cucumber (k/g)	8,590.0	214.0	7,298.0	218.0	8,082.0	283.0	6,624.0	265.0	9,403.0	404.0
Celery (k/g)	-	-	7.0	-	10.0	-	9.0	-	6.0	-
Broad bean (k/g)	16,800.0	50.0	-	-	6,200.0	19.0	850.0	2.0	-	-
Sweet potato (1000/ctg)	84,325.0	84.0	277,000.0	333.0	130,175.0	215.0	173,625.0	313.0	280,550.0	539.0
Artichoke (k/g)	23,488.0	2,819.0	22,508.0	788.0	29,920.0	1,272.0	29,036.0	1,452.0	25,296.0	1,353.0
Taro ( ton )	7,943.0	3,972.0	7,085,100.0	4,474.0	9,804.0	8,257.0	6,952.0	3,659.0	8,043.0	4,529.0
Egyptian leek ( ton )	27,577.0	221.0	23,037.0	184.0	46,882.0	422.0	20,706.0	167.0	6,966.0	187.0
Year Crops	1987		1988		1989		1990		1991
	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E	Quantity	Price 1000 L.E
Strawberry (k/g)	59,780.0	9,565.0	77,260.0	10,044.0	82,920.0	10,780.0	125,440.0	17,562.0	93,360.0	18,952.0
Garlic ( ton )	2,929.0	1,464.0	2,772.0	2,772.0	1,811.0	2,264.0	1,848.0	2,772.0	3,251.0	6,503.0
Others (k/g)	3,201.0	19.0	1,447.0	9.0	3,252.0	63.0	21,024.0	650.0	4,800.0	646.0
Total		248,706.0		259,633.0		304,896.0		269,715.0		295,684.0
Local production of vegetable seeds ( 1000 L.E )	55,818.0		59,236.0		68,429.0		58,745.0		65,784.0

Source: Agricultural Research Center Publication Egypt. 199