Foreign trade is the most important sectors of agricultural trade effectively
affecting to guide the production activities in the agricultural sector, and the Egyptian
agricultural sector occupies the bulk of the water uses on the national level, where
agricultural water requirements amounted to about 59.3 billion m3 in 2002, representing
85.6% of the total uses water in Egypt. Hence, it was striving to take advantage of water
resources. therefore the problem of research in trying to export-orientation to reflect the
scarcity of water resources and raise the efficiency of use. The study aimed to identify
the structure of foreign trade of Egyptian agricultural export and import activities and to
shed light on the nature of water trading, Research methodology based on descriptive
and analytical approach using some of the descriptive statistical measures. To achieve the objectives of the research has been assembled items of foreign
trade in the two groups the first is plant production, and the second the category of food
artifacts, Were estimated as the area necessary for the production of goods exports and
imports on average for the period (2004-2008). It turned out that there is a deficit in the
trade balance quantification of the groups production plant was about 8193 thousand
tons, as it became clear that there is a deficit in the following commodity groups are
seeds, cereals and its preparations, oilseeds, pulses, coffee, tea and cocoa, where the
deficit to 156, 8269, 552, 462, 94 thousand tons respectively. While other groups have
made some quantity trade balance surplus, in groups of sugar and its products, fruit,
fresh vegetables and onions, fiber, fodder and branches, medicinal and aromatic plants,
and live plants where the quantity of the surplus for these groups about 142, 275, 696,
39, 41, 15, 24 thousand tons respectively, the average for the period (2004-2008).
With regard to the food artifacts category was also clear that a deficit in
quantitative agricultural trade balance amounted to 673 thousand tons, where groups
fruits, preserved vegetables and their products, citrus fruits and other have gained
surplus amounted to 100, 2 thousand tons, respectively, when the group oil and
margarine recorded a deficit about 775 thousand tons during the average period (2004-
2008). As it turned out that to cover the deficit in groups of plant production necessitate
a cropping area is estimated at 3645 thousand feddan, and provide the amount of default
of about 7307 million m3. As for the food artifacts groups it was found that necessitate a
cropping area is estimated at 756 thousand feddan, and provide the amount of virtual
water be estimated at 2065 billion m3 to fill this deficit. In addition, calculates the ratio
of exports of agricultural imports, including the rate was about 39.7%. In estimating the
ratio of exports to imports of water is estimated at 24.9%, which means that the
commodity composition of export trade in relation to the commodity composition of
import trade is working towards better use of water resources.