The export of Egyptian oranges is recording a huge increase globally thanks to the fruit's lower production costs and the problems of its competitors. In fact, the country could become the world's leading exporter of oranges by the end of this year.
The crop's expansion started 15 years ago, when the Egyptian Government launched a plan to support the sector. It included the Army's involvement, which set up collection stations to facilitate the packing of oranges. Also, the deserts of Wadi Annorum and El Alamein were prepared for the planting of orange trees, said Walaa al Hadidi, owner of the citrus exporter, Egypt Valley.
Between 2013 and 2018, Egypt expanded the acreage devoted to orange cultivation by 18%, reaching some 28,764 hectares, according to data from the US Foreign Agricultural Service.
The volume of oranges exported in 2017 amounted to 1,462 million tons, according to the Ministry of Commerce of Egypt, compared to the 1,624 million tons exported by Spain, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.
But the gap has been closing. Exports of Spanish oranges from Valencia, mostly intended for the European Union (EU), fell by 2.4% in 2018, according to data from the Citrus Management Committee (CGC).
Hussein Hassan, director of the Egyptian Council of Agricultural Exports, said that Egyptian oranges are increasingly present in supermarkets around the world, as Egypt has been opening markets such as South East Asia, China or Australia. Moreover, the Russian veto on agricultural imports approved in 2017 as a response against the countries that applied sanctions, including those of the EU, was taken advantage of by Egyptian exporters.
Also worth noting is that this season, Chinese orange trees have been affected by a disease that has taken a toll on the fruit's ripening, and this has allowed Egypt to increase its exports to China, which is also the country that offers the highest price for oranges.
Hussein Hassan is optimistic and believes that this year, Egypt will take Spain's place and become the world's largest exporter of oranges.
Source: levante-emv.com
