The research dealt with the study of the impact of changes in the exchange rate on some import crops in the Arab Republic of Egypt, where the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound is one of the important problems that the Egyptian economy has been suffering from, since the beginning of the seventies of the twentieth century, in order to increase the demand for foreign currencies from the supply of them in a way that led to a deterioration The value of the Egyptian pound against various foreign currencies continues, and it is certain that the exchange rate crisis affects the performance of the Egyptian economy and all sectors and economic variables, including the agricultural sector, especially the foreign trade of Egyptian agricultural and food commodities, The political and economic changes that the Egyptian economy has undergone since 2011 have led to negative effects on the main sources of foreign exchange, which resulted in a rise in the budget deficit to reach about 339.5 billion pounds, representing about 12.5% of the value of the gross domestic product. The research relied on the secondary data published during the period (2001-2020) and unpublished that could be obtained from public agencies and institutions, which were the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the Central Bank, the National Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
RESULTS
By estimating a model to measure the impact of the exchange rate change on the total and agricultural foreign trade in Egypt, it was found that there is a statistically significant direct relationship between the change in the exchange rate and the value of total imports, as it was found that an increase in the exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar by 10% will lead to an increase in the value of Total imports at a rate of about 23.98%, and this does not correspond to the economic theory, which assumes a decrease in the amount of total Egyptian imports when the exchange rate rises, and the explanation for this is due to the inflexibility of imports, and through the standard assessment of the impact of the exchange rate on the agricultural balance (exports and imports), It was also found that there was a direct, statistically significant relationship between the change in the exchange rate and the value of Egyptian agricultural imports, as it was found that an increase in the exchange rate by 10% leads to an increase in the value of agricultural imports by 10.7%.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
In line with the research findings, the following can be recommended:
1- The necessity of limiting imports, especially of food commodities.
2- Adopting flexible monetary and financial policies that keep pace with global and local changes.
3- Rationalization of individual and national consumption is one of the most important strategic import commodities.
4- Increasing the customs rate on the import of ostentatious goods, which has a negative impact on the Egyptian trade balance.