Medicinal and aromatic plants are one of the most important products that allow Egypt to increase exports in addition to its importance in the localization of pharmaceutical industries, especially since Egypt can become a major player in this industry, the export production of medicinal and aromatic plants is very limited that does not match the requirements of the foreign consumer according to the different markets in the main demand seasons for varieties that increase demand in each of these markets, which makes medicinal and aromatic plants in a low export status, so the research aims to identify the export determinants and competitive indicators and start from them to increase export quantities to keep pace with demand, At the international level, Egypt ranked sixth in the export of the seeds and fruits group, which includes star anise, fennel, caraway, cumin, cumin, and coriander, with a percentage of 2.9% of the total amount of world exports, while it ranked third in the export of the leaves and flowers group, which includes basil, mint, hibiscus, marjoram, and chamomile, with a percentage of 6. 54% of the total amount of world exports, while the competitiveness indicators for the seeds and fruits group showed that the Algerian market occupied the first place in terms of the high market share index for Egyptian exports with a percentage of 16.9% of Algerian market imports, and the market penetration index reached about 16.9%, and it is clear from this that the ease of penetration of Egyptian exports to the Algerian market despite the high Egyptian export price compared to the price of competing countries within the market, and therefore the price competitiveness index is not in favor of Egyptian exports as it reached about 140.
This indicates that price competitiveness is not the main condition for accessing this market than the most important competing countries, namely Syria, India, but meeting market requirements is a key factor to increase market share, as for the leaves and flowers group, the Russian market occupied the first place in terms of the high market share index for Egyptian exports, which amounted to about 25.9% of market imports, and the market penetration index reached about 37.6%.
This shows the ease of penetration of Egyptian exports to that market, as a result of the low Egyptian export price compared to the price of competing countries within the market, and therefore the price competitiveness index is in favor of Egyptian exports, reaching about 68.7%, which indicates that price competitiveness is the main condition for access to that market than that of the most important competing countries, namely Nigeria, Poland, India.
Conclusively, in light of the results of the study, the study recommends that the Export-Import Authority create a database of medicinal and aromatic plants that includes the requirements of foreign markets, establish a special exchange for the prices of medicinal and aromatic plants, and create a list of the most important traders and suppliers to protect exporters from fraudulent operations. Establishing a basic infrastructure for conducting laboratory tests, introducing different sections of fields based on medicinal and aromatic plants, especially the field of medical drugs for exporters, and spreading the culture of modern agricultural practices and pharmacology.