The warm climate, fertile soils, and long-standing history of essential oil extraction have made Egypt a major global producer of cumin oil. The EU has stringent pesticide residue limits, especially when it comes to chlorpyrifos. The cumin oil market in Egypt has split into varieties that are EU compliant and those that are noncompliant.

There is massive global interest in natural ingredients and the regulatory pressure is rising as well. This makes the compliant varieties highly sought after. The non-compliant oils are cheaper though they do not gain access to premium markets. The EU compliant varieties are expensive and have a strong demand across Europe, North America, and Asia.