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Egypt: Known for its ancient antiquities and sprawling temples, Luxor is becoming Egypt’s main hub for sun-drying tomatoes.

The drying industry has created jobs for residents of Luxor, especially for women (Amr Emam/MEE)

Tomato drying racks are spread out across the ancient city, particularly in its southern and western parts.

By Amr Emam
Middle East Eye
Jan 18, 2021

Excerpt:

The city, some 650km from Cairo, produces a third of Egypt’s tomato crop of eight million tonnes.

Mahmud Abdel Radi, a Ministry of Agriculture official responsible for overseeing tomato sun-drying projects in Luxor, described these projects as a “treasure trove” for farmers and others who live in the city.

These projects are opening vast opportunities for farmers and the residents’ says Mahmud Abdel Radi, Ministry of Agriculture.

“They are opening vast opportunities for farmers and the residents,” Abdel Radi told MEE.

Thabet first got into sun-drying after learning about a Ministry of Agriculture pilot project producing sun-dried tomatoes in Luxor.

Since then, he has gone from selling the tomatoes in the local market to earmarking all the produce made on his five-acre farm for sun-drying. It takes 10kg of tomatoes to end up with a kilogram of dried tomatoes.

“This saves me the worry about finding customers for my tomatoes,” Thabet said.

Purchasers place their orders before the fruit has even ripened and rates are competitive enough for farmers to cover their labour and other production expenses. Earnings can amount to four times what a farmer can earn producing fresh tomatoes only.

That is why many others in Luxor are entering the tomato sun-drying business alongside Thabet.

Tomato drying racks are spread out across the ancient city, particularly in its southern and western parts. Visitors will notice thousands of square metres of farming land covered in tomatoes – sliced in two so as to more efficiently soak up the sun’s rays.

Read the complete article here.