At the start of the citrus season in Egypt, exporters were already expecting a difficult campaign due to the shortage of small sizes. The Red Sea crisis continued for the second year, but the world has gotten used to it to some extent. However, the complexity of the season has exceeded all expectations, and exporters are not out of the woods yet, according to Ahmed Salah, Deputy CEO of Premium Sourcing.
© Ahmed
"We knew it was going to be a difficult season, and we had anticipated an early end to the Valencia orange campaign, as we have faced many obstacles since the start of the season, such as small-sized fruit, which accounts for more than half the crop, and which are undesirable on the markets and sold at low prices. But the toughness of this season is far beyond what we imagined," Salah says.
"The emergence of citrus concentrate factories in Egypt this year has driven up the price of oranges. They absorb large volumes of fresh fruit, one tonne of concentrate requiring ten tonnes of fresh oranges. Farm-gate orange prices have risen by 80% since the start of the season, making Egyptian oranges too expensive for the fresh market. We had to increase our prices by 40% mid-season, and markets were already refusing them. The lack of price stability made things even more difficult and led to a halt in citrus packing at many of the country's packing houses at the beginning of April", the exporter continues.
© Ahmed
Exports of Valencia oranges this season have therefore been significantly reduced in volume. According to Salah, only half of last season's volumes were exported this season, a disappointment for the optimistic forecasts at the end of last season, when Egypt broke its citrus export record and exceeded the two million tons mark for the first time.
The question now, at the abrupt end of the season, is how exporters and citrus concentrate factories will coexist in the market. Salah says: "We know that these factories will have a positive impact on the fruit sector and growers. They add value and serve different customer segments. But we need more organization in sourcing instead of this competition and race to source fruit. Egyptian origin has established itself on the world market for fresh oranges at the cost of much time, effort, and sacrifice, and has earned a good reputation, and we need to preserve these achievements. Let's hope the situation improves next season."
For more information:
Ahmed Salah
Premium Sourcing
Tel: +201004817217
Email: [email protected]
