The statement was released following news reports alleging that the Libyan quarantine authorities had rejected two Egyptian shipments of red pepper and guava. 

The reports cited a Facebook page, Libya's Food and Drug Control Centre, which claimed that Egypt's western neighbour had rejected the two shipments, exported by the same Egyptian company, because the samples were rotten.

Egypt's agricultural exports to Libya from January to mid-August reached 63,181 tons, the Egyptian ministry said in the statement.

"As for pepper exports to Libya this year, nine shipments were exported, and no official notifications of refusal of any shipments have been received so far," the Central Administration of Agricultural Quarantine at the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation said.

The administration stated it has not examined or exported any agricultural products – be they pepper or other products – via the Salloum Port to Libya by the exporter company mentioned in the circulated reports.

"This confirms that this shipment referred to [in the reports] was not exported by legal methods, as it has not been examined by the Egyptian agricultural quarantine authorities," the statement quoted Ahmed El-Attar, head of the Central Administration of Agricultural Quarantine, as saying.

Furthermore, no guava shipments were exported to Libya since the beginning of 2022, El-Attar affirmed, saying the circulated reports are groundless.

The performance of the Egyptian agricultural exports to the neighbouring country "is distinguished and does not face any obstacles," El-Attar emphasised, adding that the overall agricultural exports to Libya in 2021 amounted to 89,795 tons, up from 61,900 tons in 2020.