After a very challenging grape season, one Egyptian exporter opted not to export the pomegranates this year, says May Salem of FinBi for Land Reclamation and Agriculture Development. “Our Pomegranate season has finished by now. There was a good amount of pomegranates this season, volumes were slightly higher than last year. However, we chose not to export any of our pomegranates this year as we had just had a very difficult grape season. The season was short and export prices were very low. At the same time, input costs had risen more than 20 per cent, making it very hard for the growers especially.”
Salem felt that there would be less risk involved if the company chose to keep the pomegranates in Egypt this season, as prices on the local market were actually very good: “After such a grape season, we thought it would be less risky to stick to the local market for our pomegranate season. Demand was significantly better than expected and prices were relatively high. Not higher than the export prices, but given the work and risk involved, it just seemed like the smarter choice to keep our pomegranates within our own borders. It’s not a trend we’ll keep following though, we hope to have a better grape season next year and in turn feel more comfortable to export our pomegranates after that as well.”
“I’m leaving to visit Food Africa tomorrow. It’s an event in Egypt that runs from 5 to 7 December. Although I’m not exhibiting myself, there are so many international traders present, that I want to take a look and see for myself. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet more potential clients during the event!” Salem concludes.
For more information:
May Salem
FinBi for Land Reclamation and Agriculture Development
Tel: +202 37495616
Email: may@natesngrapes.com
www.natesngrapes.com