The Egyptian garlic campaign is due to end in mid-September. According to Mohamed Shaaban, General Manager of Garlico Egypt, exporters are delighted with an exceptional season.
Shaaban said, "We have almost exhausted our stocks after a campaign of very high demand. It is increasingly challenging to source quality garlic towards the end of the season, but we continue to supply the markets with second-grade garlic, for industrial use such as peeling, powdering, or drying."
The producer continues, "The 2023 Egyptian garlic campaign has been very exciting. We received more orders than in the previous two seasons combined. However, volumes are only 60% of those of the previous season. As a result, there were more exports than last year compared with sales on the domestic market. At Garlico Egypt, we exported 50% more than last season, and we are pleased to announce that we are among the top three Egyptian exporters of garlic this year".
According to Shaaban, the rise in demand for Egyptian garlic is mainly due to the lack of competition. "Our Chinese, Argentinean, and Spanish competitors didn't have large volumes this year, and their prices have soared. The price of Chinese garlic even exceeded 300 USD per tonne. For the first time, we exported our garlic to many African markets that had previously been supplied by China, such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola."
"Taiwan and Brazil also showed greater demand than last year. On the other hand, the European, Australian, and American markets were slower than usual."
Strong demand and limited supply have driven up Egyptian garlic prices, according to Shaaban. "Prices started at a usual level at the beginning of the season, but barely a month later they were up 50%. Prices continued to rise as the season progressed and supplies of good quality garlic became limited."
"Overall, this is the best season we've had in recent years. We, therefore, expect volumes to increase acreage and volumes for the March 2024 harvest," concludes Shaaban.
For more information:
Mohamed Shaaban
Garlico Egypt
Tel/Whatsapp: +20 111 309 5812
Email: [email protected]
www.garlico-eg.com