The Egyptian mango season has kicked up, but we’re still a few weeks away from the export to really get going. The weather has been challenging, but overall the season should be positive for Egyptian growers. Demand is strong, especially for larger sizes, with one exporter stating their company has already seen a 1000 ton increase of scheduled orders this year.
According to Abdullah Tharwat, Business development manager for Egyptian produce exporter Pyramids, the Egyptian mango season has kicked off in some areas, but the mango export is expected to start in August: “The season of mango in Egypt starts in July in Qena and Aswan City, for export the season starts in August when the production of Ismailia city starts and is considered as one of the famous cities when it comes to mangoes in Egypt. Consumers in the local market love it a lot as they can recognize it from the special smell it has, after Ismailia the production in Fayom, Bahira and other cities start.”
Tharwat states that Egypt cultivates a wide variety of mangoes for both local and export markets. “There are many varieties of mango in Egypt, some of them preferred by the local market, but Arab Countries prefer Zebdya, Naomi, Tymor and the most special variety to them Awees, Arabs call this the 'King of the Mangoes' and the price for Awees is around 2.5 to 3.5 USD on the trees. Other varieties that can be shipped for a longer distance of about 15 days, like Naomi, Kent and Keitt are always in high demand in European countries as well as Russia.”
It hasn’t all been easy this season, Tharwat explains. The weather wasn’t the best, which could cause problems for certain varieties: “Recently, the weather has been one of the biggest challenges for mango production, as weather controls both quality and quantity of the mangoes. All summer crops were affected by the weather this season. However we’ve put our focus on the Keitt variety as it’s the preferred variety in Europe and Russia, where we have a solid market share.”
Overall demand is doing well, Tharwat says. They’ve seen an increase in orders for the season, with smaller sizes being used for the local market and processing. “Our scheduled orders for the upcoming mango season have increased by 1000 tons, we'll do our best to supply our customers with required quantities. We see that our customers always prefer size to be over 300 gram, with smaller sizes being preferred in the local market for consumption and use in Egyptian juice factories.”
“When it comes to my personal expectations, I think the mango season will be a good one this year. Some varieties will have smaller volumes available than last season, which could result in higher prices,” Tharwat concludes.
For more information:
Abdullah Tharwat
Pyramids Agricultural Investment Co.
Cell no. +201005027256
Tel/Fax: +20452633420
Email: Abdallah@pyramids-agriculture.com
www.pyramids-agriculture.com