As the Egyptian citrus season draws to a close, growers and exporters look back on a season marked by exceptional challenges and achievements. While many exporters say it has been a very difficult season, others consider it a great success for the Egyptian citrus industry.
Mohamed CEO of Green Point, an Egyptian citrus exporter, says: "Overall, the 2022/2023 Egyptian citrus season has been successful and we are achieving our commercial targets in terms of volume and price. The overall volume of citrus exports has increased compared to the previous season and prices have remained stable. Demand for Egyptian citrus was strong on the world market, contributing to the season's success."
The peculiarity of the Egyptian season, namely the abundance of small sizes, imposed changes on the markets throughout the season. Gomaa says: "The Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia were the strongest markets for Egyptian citrus. However, the Russian market has experienced some difficulties due to small sizes."
Typically, the Russian market is the largest Egyptian citrus destination. The problem of sizes and the political situation in Eastern Europe was therefore of great concern to Egyptian exporters. "In the end, there was more fear than harm," says Gomaa.
"Despite everything, we were able to achieve good export volumes at the cost of great efforts to adapt. We're waiting for the official statistics, but the volume is certainly at least the same as last year's, 1.7 million tonnes", continues Gomaa.
The end of the season brings good news for growers, with prices on the rise: "We had to be competitive throughout the season, in order to maintain demand. Prices also fluctuated widely, depending on the dynamics of supply and demand in specific markets. Today, prices are improving at the end of the season, rewarding the sacrifices and efforts made by all those involved in the sector throughout the year."
Gomaa concludes: "We'll keep up the momentum and look forward to a better season next year. The difficulties we encountered this season have strengthened us. At Green Point, our objectives for next season are to continue to increase our export volume while maintaining the high quality of our products. We also aim to expand our presence in new markets and strengthen our relationships with existing customers. In addition, we plan to invest in new technologies and processes to improve our efficiency and sustainability."
For more information:
Mohamed Gomaa
Green Point
Tel: +20 111 699 0000
Email: greenpointeg@gmail.com
www.greenpoint.com.eg