Egypt became the largest Northern Hemisphere orange supplier to Southeast Asia

Egypt continues to actively increase the export of oranges to the Southeast Asian region, EastFruit informs. Moreover, it is Egypt that remains the largest supplier of oranges from the countries of the Northern Hemisphere there.

In the first five months of the current season (October 2022 – February 2023), Egypt exported almost 25 000 tonnes of oranges to the main countries of Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia), which became the largest export volume in this period for at least the last five years.

Egypt also remains the largest supplier of Northern Hemisphere oranges to the region, second only to South Africa in terms of exports. At the same time, Egyptian suppliers almost do not enter into direct competition with South Africa, since the peak of its exports is in July-October, and Egypt exports the bulk of oranges in January-May.

In total, these countries of Southeast Asia import from 150 000 to 180 000 tonnes of oranges during the season, and the market in this region remains extremely concentrated. The two leading countries (South Africa and Egypt) provide almost two-thirds of all orange supplies there, and the total share of the Top-5 suppliers (South Africa, Egypt, China, Australia, and the USA), depending on the season, can reach 96%.

It should be noted that China is the main competitor of Egypt in the market of oranges in the countries of Southeast Asia. However, orange suppliers from China are mainly focused on Vietnam, while their presence in more premium markets (Malaysia, Singapore, etc.) remains minor. Nevertheless, exports from China are also growing in this direction, having more than doubled over five seasons to 15 000 tonnes.

In the countries of Southeast Asia, Egypt also competes with exporters from the United States, but imports from the US have been declining recently. Five seasons ago, the United States had a share of 13% of the total supplies to these countries, but in the 2021/22 season, its share decreased to 9%, and imports amounted to only 17 300 tonnes against almost 55 000 tonnes of imports from Egypt.

Suppliers from Spain are even less present in the market of Southeast Asia. The exports of oranges from Spain amounted to only 2 700 tonnes last season – 20 times smaller than the Egyptian exports.

For more information: east-fruit.com