In 2008, agricultural engineer Mohamed Attia, who holds a master’s degree in agricultural sciences and specialises in organic farming and modern irrigation networks, came across stevia for the first time. It is a herbaceous plant belonging to the aster family, and it is considered the most prominent of the natural sweeteners used as an alternative to sugar; it adds no calories and does not raise blood sugar levels.
At the time the plant was not known in Egypt, so Mohamed brought a number of seedlings with him from Canada and planted them in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. What encouraged him to start his project 18 years ago was Egypt’s need for natural alternatives to the sugar extracted from cane and beet, especially with the growing numbers of people with diabetes and obesity.
The number of people with diabetes in Egypt reaches 13.2 million, as Egypt ranks ninth in the world in terms of diabetes prevalence and incidence, and it records high prevalence rates of more than 20% among adults, according to 2024 data from the International Diabetes Federation.
Meanwhile, the number of people with high blood pressure is about 30 million, with a prevalence rate exceeding 26.3%, reaching nearly 40% in some age groups, and it causes the deaths of nearly 300 people a day. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 40% of adults in Egypt suffer from high blood pressure, and about two-thirds of Egyptians are overweight.
According to a scientific study titled “The burden of obesity in Egypt”, the number of annual deaths due to obesity in 2020 was about 115,000, or 19.08% of total deaths. Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, the Minister of Health and Population, had announced in 2023 that 40 % of adults in Egypt have obesity, and that the proportion rises to 50% among women, while the former dean of the National Nutrition Institute, Gehan Fouad, stated in 2024 that about 75% of Egyptians over 18 years of age suffer from obesity. Hence the importance of herbaceous plants that serve as alternatives to sugar, such as stevia.
Agricultural engineer Mohamed Attia explains that a feddan needs about 20,000 to 30,000 seedlings, each priced between EGP 5 and EGP 10; while a feddan produces about 6 or 7 tonnes of dried leaves a year, and if only the leaves are picked and the stems are left, the harvest can be repeated several times during the season, the agricultural engineer explains.
He tells Zawia3: “Although the cost of establishing a feddan is high at the beginning, the economic return is good, as the price per kilo ranges between EGP 500 and 600 wholesale, and reaches EGP 800 retail”.
Stevia is a semi-perennial plant, as it remains in the ground for a period ranging between three and five years. It also adapts to and grows in newly reclaimed land and with modern irrigation systems, and a single feddan produces between four and six cuttings a year, at a rate of roughly one cutting every two months during periods of active growth, while the average productivity of a feddan ranges between three and four tonnes of dried leaves each year.
Mohamed affirms that the climatic conditions in Egypt are suitable for growing stevia, especially in desert areas and newly reclaimed land, provided that drip irrigation systems are used and the plant’s water needs are met regularly, considering that high temperatures help the plant grow and improve its productivity.
Nevertheless, he explains that the matter is not without obstacles, most notably the high cost of seeds, the price of which exceeds EGP 20,000 per kilo, and the difficulty of handling them, given their small size and extreme sensitivity during handling and storage. Mohamed therefore prefers to produce seedlings inside greenhouses before transferring them to the permanent land, to reduce loss rates and ensure that the planting succeeds.
Over time, Mohamed noticed that the quality of the crop is linked to a large degree to the concentration of the “steviol glycoside” compounds responsible for the sweet taste; so he turned to relying on organic carbon and phosphorus in fertilisation, with limited use of nitrogen fertilisers, with the aim of raising the concentration of the active substance in the leaves.
He distinguishes between two types of stevia in Egypt: the Canadian variety, which is characterised by a low degree of bitterness and high demand in foreign markets, while the Indian variety is widely grown in some areas of Egypt and is known for its relatively higher productivity, but it is more bitter and less accepted by some consumers.
Over the years he has grown stevia, he has come up against the absence of local factories specialised in extracting the sweetening substance from stevia leaves, which has made the local market depend to a large extent on imported or repackaged products. Meanwhile, the larger part of production is directed to export to the Gulf states and some European countries, where demand for natural sweeteners is growing, whether as seedlings or as dried leaves and seeds.
This pattern creates a seasonal shortage in the supply of stevia in the local market, especially in March and April of each year. Mohamed therefore proposes establishing local units or factories to extract the sweetening compounds from the leaves, which could help lower prices and provide better-quality products for consumers, instead of relying on imported products or the substitute substances circulating in the markets.
He has therefore recently changed the course of his project: instead of focusing on wholesale and export, he decided to turn to selling seedlings directly to consumers, especially people with diabetes, as he believes that growing stevia on rooftops and balconies is a practical solution for families who need natural sweeteners for drinks and for preparing some food products, particularly since the plant does not need large spaces and can be grown inside plastic bottles.
Studies issued by the Sugar Crops Research Institute of the Agricultural Research Centre indicate that expanding stevia cultivation may help narrow the gap between production and local consumption of sugar, estimated at about 400,000 to 800,000 tonnes a year, in addition to the crop’s lower water requirements compared with sugarcane.
Meanwhile, Dr Khaled Ayyad, professor of biological control at the Agricultural Research Centre, explains that stevia has a high capacity to adapt to the different environmental conditions in Egypt, besides being an easy-to-grow herbaceous plant that does not need large areas; it can be grown on traditional agricultural land or desert land, and even in home gardens and on balconies. It is used either in its natural form after the leaves are dried, or after undergoing manufacturing and extraction processes to produce ready-to-use sweeteners for food and drinks.
He tells Zawia3: “The plant is still grown on a limited scale, and its dried leaves are used directly by some consumers, but turning it into a broad economic industry requires an integrated system that includes cultivation, manufacturing, marketing and medical and nutritional awareness, in a way that ensures a sustainable market for the product is built”.
He believes that the global trend towards natural sweeteners gives the plant growing importance in the food and health markets, but the main challenge to its spread is linked to marketing and building consumer demand. In past years there have been experiments by farms, projects and private factories that worked on producing and packaging stevia products, but many of them did not achieve the expected commercial success because of weak public awareness of the product and the market not being prepared to accept it on a wide scale, as he describes it.
The importance of sugar-substitute sweeteners
For his part, Dr Ali Abdallah, director of the Egyptian Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Statistics and Addiction Control, explains that stevia has succeeded in leading the market for sugar-substitute sweeteners at the expense of aspartame and saccharin, whose use has declined markedly in recent years because of their potential health harms, whereas stevia has shown a good level of safety. However, some users initially complain of a bitter taste, or one different from conventional sugar, a complaint that fades as they get used to the product.
He tells Zawia3: “Stevia is one of the most prominent sugar-substitute products in Egyptian pharmacies, whether in tablet or powder form; some are imported and some are packaged or manufactured locally by Egyptian companies, such as SEKEM, Isis and Atos Pharma. Use is concentrated mainly among people with diabetes and people who want to lose weight or follow low-calorie diets”.
The director of the Egyptian Center explains that price is one of the most prominent challenges to expanding its use, as some conventional sweeteners are available at lower prices, while stevia products are sold at relatively higher prices, whether in tablet or sachet form. The pack containing 100 sachets, produced by Atos Pharma, costs EGP 250 in pharmacies, while a 250-gram jar of Sweetal Stevia, produced by Hygint Pharmaceuticals, costs about EGP 170.
The price of stevia sugar in Egypt ranges between 6.50 and 13.00 dollars (equivalent to EGP 200 to 400) per pack, depending on the brand and the pack size (sachets or tablets). Among the best-known brands available in the markets: Emtenan Stevia Sugar, whose 50-gram pack costs EGP 105 and 125-gram pack EGP 215, while the pack containing 50 sachets costs EGP 225; in addition to Steviana, whose 200-gram pack costs about EGP 225; Abu Auf Stevia sugar, whose pack containing 50 sachets costs about EGP 95; and Sweetal Stevia, whose 250-gram pack costs about EGP 170. Steviola products are sold at about EGP 480 for 250 grams, EGP 410 for the pack containing 150 tablets, and EGP 400 for the 50-packet pack.
He continues: “At present we do not need only to increase production so much as we need education and awareness of the importance of sugar substitutes, especially among the groups most vulnerable to diseases linked to excessive sugar consumption”, pointing out that stevia is a suitable option for some health groups, but it is not a substitute for following a healthy, well-rounded diet.
Meanwhile, Dr Eman Kamel, consultant in clinical nutrition and professor at the National Research Centre, explains that the compounds responsible for the sweet taste in the stevia plant are known as “steviol glycosides“, and they do not raise blood sugar levels or directly stimulate insulin secretion, because the body does not digest them in the small intestine, which makes them low in calories and relatively safe for people with diabetes when used in their pure form.
She tells Zawia3: “Some small clinical studies have shown limited improvement in some patients, but there is no scientific consensus on considering it a therapeutic means of improving resistance to insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating glucose levels in the blood. Clinical studies have shown that high doses of the compound stevioside, one of the most important sweet glycosides extracted from stevia, led to a marked decrease in blood pressure levels among people with mild to moderate hypertension”.
The clinical nutrition consultant compares stevia with other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose, explaining that the three types do not raise blood sugar levels when used within the recommended limits, but stevia is distinguished by being extracted from a plant source, while sucralose is distinguished by its suitability for baking and cooking because of its heat stability, whereas aspartame is prohibited for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a genetic disorder that prevents the body from breaking down the amino acid phenylalanine.
She points out that the role of stevia in weight loss is linked mainly to replacing sugar and reducing the calories consumed daily, not to its having direct fat-burning properties, adding: “Stevia can be a useful tool within a balanced diet, but on its own it is not a treatment for obesity or for metabolic syndrome (a group of risk factors that include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high blood fats); these conditions require a comprehensive change in lifestyle, diet and physical activity”.
She warns against the common confusion between pure stevia and commercial products that contain fillers such as dextrose (a simple sugar derived from glucose) or maltodextrin (a rapidly absorbed carbohydrate used as a carrier or filler), explaining that many products circulating in the markets do not contain pure stevia, and that these additives may raise the carbohydrate content and affect the calculations of people with diabetes. She advises consumers to read the ingredients carefully and make sure that the product contains only “steviol glycosides” or “rebaudioside A“, the most widely used stevia compound in commercial products because of its low bitterness.
She affirms that the international bodies concerned with food safety consider stevia safe within the recommended daily limits, which amount to four milligrams of steviol glycosides per kilogram of body weight per day. Nevertheless, she advises pregnant women, children, kidney patients and those taking medication for diabetes or blood pressure to use it in moderation and to follow up on their health with their treating doctor when needed.
Exporting the raw material and importing the extracts
Four years ago, agricultural investor Ismail Ali began growing one feddan of stevia in Kafr El-Dawwar, before expanding production inside greenhouses, which he considers more suitable for the plant than open-field cultivation, since it needs special environmental conditions that combine good lighting and moderate humidity with protection from scorching sunlight.
After the harvest he began the process of drying the leaves, which he describes as the most sensitive stage in stevia production, as it requires care and a suitable temperature to preserve their quality, which in turn requires additional labour and dedicated drying spaces and increases production costs. He notes that dried stevia leaves can be stored for up to a full year without noticeable deterioration in quality if kept in suitable conditions away from humidity.
In the next stage, he launched his project to package dried stevia leaves in small 45-gram packs, which he sells for EGP 30 to a number of herbalists’ shops. At the same time, he markets his product through social media and ships it to consumers’ homes within Greater Cairo.
Ismail explains that the stevia plant has been present in the Egyptian markets for more than ten years, but its spread is still limited, and it has not yet become a widespread crop among farmers because it needs special care and because of the difficulty of local marketing, which makes most producers rely on export as more economically viable, while local demand remains limited as a result of weak awareness of the nature of the product and its uses.
He tells Zawia3: “Demand for the product is concentrated more among the groups most aware of healthy food alternatives, especially in the new cities and areas with higher economic levels, while stevia is still not widespread in working-class neighbourhoods because of its relatively high price and its taste being different from conventional sugar”.
He explains that traders buy a kilo from the farmer at prices ranging between EGP 250 and 300, then usually resell it to consumers at EGP 600, rising to EGP 700 at times of high demand and short supply in March and April, because of exports, while small packs are sold at varying prices depending on the quantity and the packaging method.
He points to a limited number of companies and factories working in the field of health products that use stevia in their products, in addition to some traders who direct quantities for export, especially to Arab markets such as Libya.
He warns that most of the white powder products circulating in the markets under the name “stevia sugar” differ from the natural product, which is green when ground, which means that they contain additional ingredients and sweeteners that give them a colour and taste closer to ordinary sugar, in his words.
Despite the expansion of cultivated areas in recent years through private sector initiatives and some agricultural projects, reaching about 300 feddans, the stevia industry in Egypt still faces the crisis of the absence of factories to extract the active substance from the leaves on a broad commercial scale, which has led most of its producers to resort to export.
Most of the companies operating in the stevia sweeteners market rely on importing the pure extract from abroad, then re-blending and packaging it locally in the form of consumer products, while local manufacturing operations linked to the crop are limited to drying, sorting, grinding and packaging, whether to produce dried leaf powder or for use in herbal drinks and some food products.
In this context, Dr Ayman El-Esh, former director of the Sugar Crops Research Institute, believes that the production of dried stevia leaves in Egypt exceeds local demand for them, but a weak consumer culture and the limited direct use of the leaves among citizens restrict the benefit from them, while demand is concentrated on manufactured stevia extracts used by producers of low-calorie drinks and pharmaceutical companies, which rely on them as safe sweeteners for patients who cannot consume conventional sugar.
He believes that expanding the establishment of stevia extract factories could help lower the prices of the products available to consumers locally and reduce dependence on imports, but he stresses that achieving this requires private sector investment in establishing extraction and manufacturing units, in addition to developing the local market and raising awareness of the plant’s health uses.
He tells Zawia3: “The future of stevia in Egypt depends on how ready investors are to enter the field of manufacturing, not just cultivation. The main challenge does not lie in producing the plant, but in ensuring there is a market capable of absorbing the final products and generating a sustainable economic return”.
The former director of the Sugar Crops Research Institute dates the research trials on growing stevia in Egypt to the early 1990s, in 1993 and 1994, affirming that the trials proved that the plant can be grown successfully in the Egyptian environment, as the local climate suits it to a large degree, although winter leads to a relative decline in productivity compared with the tropical countries from which the plant originates.
He explains that stevia is a perennial crop that can remain in the ground for five or six years and is harvested several times a year, but Egyptian climatic conditions mean that the economic return in practice depends on three main cuttings a year instead of four or more, as happens in some other countries.
He explains that the active substance in the stevia plant, known as “glycosides”, has a sweetening power of up to about 300 times that of conventional sugar, without containing calories, which has earned it wide global interest in the pharmaceutical and food industries aimed at people with diabetes and those following diets.
Despite the success of growing stevia locally, El-Esh believes that the sector faces two main obstacles: the first is limited public awareness of the plant and its uses, which limits the size of local demand for dried leaves and their products; the second, and more important, obstacle is the absence of factories specialised in extracting the active substances of high economic value from the plant, chief among them “stevioside” and “rebaudioside”, which go into the manufacture of natural sweeteners used worldwide.
He explains that Egypt still imports these active substances in the form of a ready-made white powder from abroad, especially from China, even though the raw material is available in Egypt, stressing that the real economic value of stevia does not lie in exporting dried leaves, but in manufacturing them and extracting their active components locally, which raises the economic return and creates greater added value for the national economy.
Meanwhile, Dr Tarek Abou Moussa, professor of agricultural economics at the Agricultural Research Centre, affirms that stevia is one of the herbaceous shrubs with promising economic and health value, but its cultivation in Egypt is still limited, some of it in experimental plots inside agricultural research centres.
He tells Zawia3: “Assessing the economic feasibility of the plant depends on the existence of sufficient cultivated areas to allow large-scale commercial production, which has not yet been achieved in Egypt; the areas currently cultivated are limited and are not enough to fully cover local demand, let alone support any significant export activity”.
He points out that global demand for natural sweeteners already exists, but talk of expanding exports remains premature given limited local production, and making the most of it requires expanding cultivation, production and manufacturing, as well as raising awareness among farmers and consumers alike, and making greater efforts in awareness and agricultural extension, which is supposed to be the link between farmers and the research centres that pass on to them the results of modern agricultural studies and trials.
While the rates of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are rising in Egypt, stevia appears to be a promising option that combines health, economic and environmental dimensions. However, the transformation of this plant from a crop of limited spread into an integrated industry does not depend only on the success of its cultivation; it is linked to the market’s capacity to absorb it, to the provision of investment in manufacturing and extraction, and to raising consumers’ awareness of its uses.
As Egypt continues to export raw leaves and import high-purity extracts, the question remains: will stevia succeed in moving from the margins of the market to the heart of the strategy for food security and health industries, or will it remain merely a promising crop whose potential has yet to be fully exploited?
