The upcoming Egyptian orange season is approaching, with anticipation surrounding the impact of orange concentrate factories. According to Abdelkader Habony, an Egyptian exporter, "the upcoming Egyptian citrus season will be much more relaxed than the previous one."
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The exporter states: "Last season saw intense activity in orange juice concentrate factories, to the point that the supply of oranges was insufficient at certain times of the season. These factories demonstrated that they could absorb impressive quantities. However, much has changed in the meantime, including the determining factor for the prices of their final product."
"Concentrate prices have fallen, and we know that factories have accumulated significant stocks. I think this will reduce these factories' appetite for orange supplies and will certainly lower the price they offer growers. We therefore believe that the start of the season will be quiet and that there will be enough oranges for fresh fruit exports," Habony continues.
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On the demand side, things are expected to be quiet at the start of the season due to a large supply of late South African oranges in Europe, a new situation caused by U.S. tariffs imposed on South Africa. Habony comments: "Usually, we don't compete with South Africa due to seasonality, but rather with Spain, Turkey, or Morocco, where volumes are much lower than in Egypt. However, this season, we will start the export campaign while cold storage facilities in Europe are still full of South African oranges."
"This situation does not worry us," says the exporter. "I think this overlap will not last long, a few weeks at most, during which time the Egyptian oranges will gain color and size. That's the good news for the coming season: production in Egypt will be much better than last season in terms of sizing, with all sizes from 48 to 125 available."
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The upcoming season will be a high one for soft citrus as well, Habony says. He concludes, "We have alternating low and high seasons in terms of mandarin and clementine volumes. The upcoming season will see significant volumes of these varieties, which will also contribute to a consistent supply of Egyptian citrus both for volume and quality. There is a wide variety of mandarins and clementines, which come in excellent quality when volumes are high. We export them to various markets in Europe, Africa, and East Asia. "
For more information:
Abdelkader Habony
Habony Group
Tel: +201090999229
Email: [email protected]
www.alhabounygroup.com
