Egypt: Cucumber production large enough to meet local demand

Egypt is not known for its cucumber exports and these go mostly to a limited number of destinations, mostly the Gulf area and Maldives. Ayman Bayoumy, sales and shipping manager of Fruit Link, explains that most of their exports, with shipments of about 1 ton, are done by air, and batches are small, because cucumbers are a sensitive item without a long shelf life. The peak season takes place in June, July and August.

While unsure about the reason, he also explains that, for many years, Egypt’s production has not actually been big enough to sell cucumbers to overseas destinations while also meeting its local demand, which is really high, as cucumbers, together with tomatoes, are a key vegetable in Egypt, just like onions for the Indians.

Prices in the domestic market change every day because of increasing or falling demand and range between 3 and 4 pounds (0.35-0.47 Euro), since there’s production all year round, but also periods of low supply.

In any case, he assures that Egypt’s local production, which concentrates mostly in the north of the country, in the Nile area, is large enough to meet the domestic demand and that no imports from any third countries are necessary.

For more information:

Ayman Bayoumy
Fruit Link (Egypt)
Tel: +2 0111 555 4553
Email: ay.bayoumy@fruitlinkco.com
www.fruitlinkco.com