Mr Sherif El Ezzawy and Alaa Diab from Egyptian exporter Pico.
When it comes to grapes, Pico offers the Sun World varieties, including the Midnight Beauty (black) the Sable (black) and the Red Superior, which is currently being shipped. In addition, PICO offers varieties from other international breeding programs like GRAPA, DOLE and others. “The season so far is going well, with good prices for now, although volumes are expected to increase significantly, which will drive prices down; for this reason, we try to finish our shipments before the end of July,” affirms Mr Diab.
The company has been exporting to the UK market since 1988 and over the decades has managed to gain presence in all major British supermarkets. It has also established itself in other European countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Italy or Austria, with shipments also reaching Russia, South Africa, South East Asia, and the Arabian Gulf states. “The problem we face, despite this good market penetration, is the increase in labour, processing and shipping costs, while supermarkets keep pushing for lower prices,” says Mr Diab.
Pico Agriculture makes 100% of its grapes shipments by sea in containers, with 4 to 5 departures per week. In this sense, “while shipping costs have traditionally been lower than for Spanish producers, things are slowly turning around. In any case, we easily reach many European ports in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Once the Spanish produce enters the market, we will move to other destinations,” concludes Alaa Diab.
Please visit www.picoagriculture.com for more information.