Egyptian exporter expects slight increase in orange production
“No one knows for sure how the season will end up, but the percentage increase from last year for oranges will be approximately four or five percent,” said Mr Hassan AlBanna, of Hbanna Exports in Egypt. He expects this year's orange harvest to bring in a little over 1.1 million tonnes throughout the 2013-2014 season. Stable growing conditions, free of strange weather or production issues, have played a role in the sunny outlook on this year's production, according to Mr Hassan. With plenty of volume this year, the challenge will be to maintain the high quality of fruit and service Hbanna's Asian customers have been accustomed to over the years.
“The Asian market is far from Egypt, so the quality of fruit that's shipped has to be good because it takes 25 days to get there by sea,” said Mr Hassan. “If the quality isn't good, the fruit will not be good when it arrives.” Hbanna's main target markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam. With their experience in Asia, Hbanna is able to play to the preferences of consumers there, said Mr Hassan like sending them smaller fruit. On the basis of a good harvest and their expertise, Mr Hassan believes they'll do well this year.
“We've yet to have any problems with this season's harvest,” said Mr Hassan. “And with Egyptian citrus having a good reputation all over the world, I think this season will be good.”
For more information:
Basma ALBanna
Egyptian Export Center
Phone: +2 02 25255885
Fax: +2 048 2590671
Email: marketing@hbanna.com