⏱ Sun-dried tomatoes in 30 seconds
- Egypt dries in winter. Upper Egypt's tomato harvest runs from January to early May, and sun-drying peaks in January and February.
- The climate does the work. Very low humidity and strong heat dry the fruit quickly and evenly in the open sun.
- 10–15 kg of fresh tomatoes make 1 kg dried. That concentration is where the deep flavour comes from.
- Every kilo passes through many hands — growers, pickers, drivers, cutting and drying teams, sorters and packers.
- Two ways to buy: bulk halves and cherry for manufacturers and foodservice, or ready-to-use in oil for retail and private label.
Egypt's Winter Season
Sun-drying reached Egypt around 2012, when a foreign resident in Upper Egypt (صعيد مصر, Sa'id Misr) saw what its climate offered. The idea spread village by village. Tomatoes are one of the region's main winter crops, harvested from January to early May, and drying peaks in January and February.
For buyers, the winter season means new-crop sun-dried tomatoes early in the year — a useful second season alongside summer-dried supply.
Why Upper Egypt Suits Sun-Drying
Sun-drying needs two things: dry air and heat. Upper Egypt has both. Humidity is very low, so water leaves the fruit quickly and evenly and it dries cleanly in the open air. The sun is strong and the days stay warm even in winter, so the halves reach their target moisture without ovens or artificial drying. The air is also clean, with no pollution to settle on the fruit.
From Field to Pack: The People Behind Every Kilo
Sun-dried tomatoes are still made largely by hand, and each step has its own team. In Upper Egypt, the work runs like this:
- Harvest — growers and pickers bring in the winter crop at full red ripeness and sort it in the field.
- Transport — trucks carry the tomatoes to the drying yards the same day.
- Wash and halve — teams wash the fruit and cut each tomato in half by hand.
- Salt — the cut face is salted to draw out water and protect the fruit.
- Sun-dry — the halves are laid out on clean sheets or trays in the open sun until they reach the target moisture.
- Grade and pack — sorters grade the fruit by quality; packers fill cartons or sacks and weigh each one.
That chain creates a lot of work. One village drying unit, set up in 2020 with the World Food Programme and Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation, employs women and created 200 seasonal jobs, while raising farmers' incomes by 30%. Across Upper Egypt's villages, drying has become an important source of income for farming families.
Egypt's Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Numbers
Egypt's sun-dried tomatoes go to Italy, France and the rest of Europe, the Gulf, East Asia, Brazil and Argentina. Buyers use them in pizza, pasta sauces, ketchup and other sauces, antipasti, salads, breads and ready meals.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Bulk or in Oil?
Halves and cherry, salted or sulphited. For food manufacturers, foodservice, repackers and oil-packers.
See the product →Halves or julienne, marinated in sunflower oil with herbs and garlic (olive oil on request), in glass jars. For retail, deli, HORECA and private label.
See the product →Quick specifications
| In bulk | In oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Cuts | Halves · cherry | Halves · julienne |
| Packing | 10 kg carton with PE liner · 2 × 5 kg vacuum bags · 12.5 kg lined paper bag | 314 ml glass jar, twist-off · 12 jars per carton |
| Preservation | Salted, or sulphited (E223) for bright colour | Pasteurised in the jar · sunflower or olive oil |
| Moisture | 20–24% | Drained weight min. 60% |
| Salt | 4–10% salted · 2–6% sulphited | 3–6% · pH ≤ 4.2 |
| Shelf life | 12 months | 24 months |
What Buyers Should Do Now
- Plan winter orders early — Upper Egypt's drying peaks in January and February.
- Add a second season — Egypt's winter crop keeps your stock fresh alongside summer-dried supply.
- Specify the essentials — cut, salted or sulphited, moisture and pack size on every order.
- Ask for new-crop samples before you fix volumes.
Quick Answers
When are sun-dried tomatoes produced in Egypt?
Mainly in winter. In Upper Egypt, the winter tomato crop is harvested from January to early May, and sun-drying peaks in January and February.
How many fresh tomatoes make 1 kg of sun-dried tomatoes?
Between 10 and 15 kg, depending on the fruit and the final moisture.
What is the difference between sun-dried tomatoes in bulk and in oil?
Bulk sun-dried tomatoes are dry, salted or sulphited halves or cherry tomatoes packed in cartons, vacuum bags or paper bags, for further processing. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil are ready to eat, packed in oil in glass jars for retail and private label.
📩 Ask for New-Crop Samples
Saporina supplies sun-dried tomatoes from Egypt in bulk and in oil, including private label. Specifications, certificates of analysis and samples are available on request.