On September 20, the Egyptian government announced a temporary ban on onion exports until the end of 2023. According to the state-owned newspaper Al Ahram, the decision was justified by the soaring prices of onions on the local market, which had risen by up to 190%.
The same source reported today the decision of the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to extend the ban until March 30, 2024, i.e. until the end of the onion season. The decision comes as onion prices on the local market are not easing, a fact linked according to Al Ahram to the significant increase in exports in 2023. The newspaper quotes the official statistics authority CAPMAS, which stated that Egypt's onion exports surged by 95.9% this year.
An exporter told Freshplaza, commenting on the decision, "In any case, the ban extension only concerns the rest of volumes from the current season. The next season starts at the end of April, and the ban will not impact our plans. We expect very strong demand to continue on the world market, accompanied by rising prices. We anticipate an increase in acreage and volumes as prices rise considerably."
Another exporter said, "We're not really impacted by the extended ban on exports, since it mainly concerns red onions, which are currently in off-season. The next season doesn't start until after the extended ban period."
According to earlier official statements obtained by Al Ahram, the export ban is designed to discourage attempts to hoard onions in view to export, in a context of global demand outstripping production.