Early finish for Egyptian Valencia oranges

The Egyptian season for Valencia oranges is virtually finished. According to Dalia Gamal of Sonac, the season was better than last year. “Sizes were average and we had good volumes for all markets. We started out with medium prices, that got stronger as the season went on. We did have to deal with a reduction in volume by 20% due to weather conditions,” says Dalia Gamal.



This reduction in volume is why the season is finishing this soon. According to Dalia, the market will be very empty the moment South African oranges hit the market. Though some companies are still exporting oranges with the aid of foreign suppliers, all main exporters have already finished.

The season for Navel oranges finished earlier as well, in the first week of January. The Valencia season started three weeks earlier than normal.

There was a lot of demand for Egyptian oranges from Europe and Russia, with Europe having shortages due to the frost at the beginning of this year. “Europe usually demands big sizes, while we can supply all ranges and sizes of oranges. The demand in Europe brought a balance in prices with regards to the Far East,” says Dalia in conclusion.