Extended orange export campaign in Egypt

Egypt’s orange season has stretched well beyond its usual finish line this year, according to Mohamed Khamis of Sama Agro, who says he is still loading fruit to this day.

“This season is way longer than usual. This is because we had many unwanted sizes during the normal season. Still, demand for these sizes was very high at the end of the season, especially in Europe, in July and August, which is unusual,” Khamis says.

© Youness Bensaid | FreshPlaza.com

The exporter shares that orange stocks in Egypt are now running low, but buyers are still asking for more. “We are getting close to an effective end of the season, but demand is still there. I quite honestly don’t know the reason for this odd late demand, or whether it’s related to an eventual shortage in South African supply.”

While the late demand for Egyptian oranges usually comes from Arab countries, Khamis says Europe is currently a very active market, especially the re-export hubs, like Spain, the Netherlands and the UK.

On pricing, Khamis points to a flat trend across the whole campaign. “Prices were low but stable throughout the season. Usually the price moves as the season progresses, sometimes up, sometimes down, but this season prices stayed fixed, which is explained by stable demand in Europe. At the start or middle of the season, prices barely covered the costs, but we started pulling margins by the end of the season,” he explains.

For more information:
Mohamed Khamis
Sama Agro
Tel: +20 12122 33050 / +20 12874 58751
Email: [email protected]
www.samaagroexports.com