Egypt: Dutch consortium explores market dynamics for protected cultivation

Opportunities for Protected Cultivation in Egypt: PiB

The Partners for International Business (PIB) program for Egypt, “Climate and Water Smart Protected Cultivation” is a multi-year public - private partnership consisting of Dutch companies, educational institutes and government. The goal is to promote sustainable and efficient water use in horticulture while strengthening local food security and safety. As the program develops, Egyptian - Dutch collaboration for mid-tech and high-tech cultivation will play a vital role in modernizing Egypt’s agriculture sector, paving the way for a future of food security and innovation. The project is coordinated by "Dutch Greenhouse Delta” from the Netherlands. The PIB works closely with the Impact Cluster SOPH (link), where a Dutch-Egyptian greenhouse demonstration site is being developed.

Driving the Transition; from Open Fields to Controlled Environments:

As the second year of the PIB program is progressing, key optimistic findings are observed; Due to climate change, weather flactuations during the day and night, pesticide resistance, and water scarcity, the cultivation is moving slowly towards protected cultivation rather than open field cultivation. This transition received a major boost when the Egyptian army launched several large-scale greenhouse development programs, including the prominent “Future of Egypt” initiative. These initatives laid the first cornerstone in that direction, showing the value of controlled environments for year-round, high-quality production.

Operational Excellence; Beyond Just Infrastructure:

As greenhouse projects scale up, the focus is shifting from infrastructure alone to the operational systems required to sustain performance over time. Next to developing fit-for-purpose greenhouses, much attention is directed to training, capacity building and post-harvest management. This transition is particularly visible in emerging markets such as Egypt, where rapid investment is revealing both the potential and the limits of technology-led development. Market drivers are clear: water scarcity, climate resilience, productivity and export readiness.

Young Entrepreneurs in the Greenhouse Industry:

A distinctive observation that has been found during the project is the rise of young, ambitient, well educated entrepeneurs entering the agriculture sector alongside the big names who have been in the market from long time. These entrepeneurs are building scalable operations, adopting hydroponics, alternative substrates, water-saving strategies and biological crop protection. This group is also changing purchasing behaviour. Their logic is shifting from lowest initial cost to performance, reliability and long-term results. This mindset supports more sustainable decision-making and opens the door to integrated solutions combining technology, service and applied knowledge.

It can be concluded that there is quite a substantial need to the adequate technologies and knowledge from the Dutch side, that can help the Egyptian protected cultivation sector reach the next level of Innovation and Effieciency needed to fulfil the local food security, as well as the export market in a sustainable way. Also, a clear observation that the trade missions to Egypt had a postive effect on biulding a relationship between the Dutch companies and the Egyptian stakeholders leading to solid business opportunities.

Mission Objectives; Knowledge, Policy & Connection:

The objectives of the ingoing/outgoing missions organized by the PIB program is to highlight both exisiting and new opportunites for Dutch technology and expertise in the horticulture sector in Egypt. Beside the business opportunities, the knowledge transfer is a major objective for the PIB project in Egypt. Lastly, policy dialogue on a government level is vital to ensure smooth market entry and eleminate obstacles if needed.

Activities and Program:

The PiB has organised one paviljon, two outgoing missions and one incoming mission during GreenTech Amsterdam (>20 companies joined!). All PiB partners have joined one or more of these activities.

During the missions to Egypt the delegates visited different type greenhouses, with different needs and opportunities:

• Large scale greenhouse cultivation projects were visited (roughly 6,000 Ha of greenhouse in total). The majority of produce from these projects is aimed for the export market. It was observed that Dutch technologies were implemented in these projects - climate control and screens, substrates, fertigation and water treatment. Given the large expansion of greenhouse horticulture, we expect more opportunities for incorporation of these technologies.
• Relatively smale scale farm (1-5 hectares) in the pilot phase, with ambitions of scaling.  Besides, we met Dutch technologies of screening and climate control. The technical focus was to achieve consistent, year-round pepper quality, a crop particularly sensitive to high temperatures during flowering and fruit set and a stable production season. This was not only to avoid summer stress, but to reliably achieve EU-grade export quality during the winter export window from December to April, when Egyptian production can complement European markets. The objective is clearly to make fit-for-purpose greenhouses, depending on the crop grow.

Future Business Opportunities:

Through the activities of the PIB project in Egypt the appetite of the companies to engage in Egypt has grown. Dutch technologies are relevant for the Egyptian market. However, a better business case is needed to grow the market further. The business case comes from engaging with customers on ‘design follows purpose’ – build a greenhouse for the product that is desired, rather than a structure without clear intentions for use. Moreover, engagement needs to happen on capacity building of the users – technology offers potential, but more so, when used best. Lastly, the Dutch knowledge can be successfully applied, but the technologies are not necessarily always the best fit. New partnerships with local partners can monetize this knowledge in the Egyptian context. During one and a half years of the PIB resulted in many new collaborations. Most relevant is the increase in sales and collaboration. We have welcomed new contracts and increase sales in areas of climate control, substrate, screening and knowledge collaboration. There is a MOU in preparation to be signed between Dutch Greenhouse Delta and the Farm to Fork-initiative to enhance the collaboration.

Next Steps:

The PiB will continue its effort in the coming years. The focus will gradually shift to better targeting customers and the market as a whole as matchmaking leads to more business deals. As program, we plan for a further mission and a pavilion in 2026, while we expect a great turnout for the Egyptian delegation at Green Tech Amsterdam June 2026.

If you want to join the PiB: Join the PIB Programme for Horticulture and Water in Egypt - Dutch Greenhouse Delta

For more news, follow NL-Masr Agri-Food Network on LinkedIn . The agriculture team at the Dutch Embassy stands ready to help any Dutch company interested in doing business with Egypt. For more information, please contact: kai-lvvn@minbuza.nl