Egyptian growers have just completed the first half of the strawberry season. The remainder of the fresh strawberry season runs until February, when frozen strawberry exports begin. According to Amr Kadah, Export Manager at Fruit.Farm: "Egypt is set to export more strawberries than last season."
Kadah explains: "The area devoted to strawberries has increased in the run-up to this season in Egypt, reaching 70,000 acres. For many years now, we have benefited from a number of factors favorable to this crop: the perfect climatic conditions, Egypt's location at the crossroads of continents, production costs, and the expertise of Egyptian growers and workers. And, of course, all our efforts result in excellent quality fruit that is in great demand. We produce the most popular varieties on the market, such as Sweet Sensation, the well-recognized Fortuna, Florida and Festival varieties. These varieties are tasty, have a good aroma, and brix levels that reach 9%".
Hence, Kadah expects Egypt to exceed the half-million-tonne threshold for strawberry production of last season. He adds, "At Fruit.Farm, we expect our volumes of fresh strawberries to increase by at least 40,000 tonnes. This trend is verifiable across the country thanks to the increase in acreage. The industry continues to develop without major or uncontrollable difficulties, with the exception of production costs, which continue to rise."
"The rise in production costs can also be explained by the adaptability of Egyptian producers and exporters to market needs," adds Kadah. "We quickly adapted to changing regulations and invested heavily in machinery to guarantee the safety and longevity of our products during transport. From cold storage to meticulous packaging, no stone has been left unturned to ensure that these berries arrive on the shelves as fresh as they were when picked."
And that's how Egyptian strawberries can be found in over 50 countries, continues Kadah. "You can eat Egyptian strawberries in most European countries, the Arab Gulf countries, Russia and Asia. Our strawberries are exported to over 50 countries worldwide, and we continue to meet the high demand every year. The main markets for our strawberries are Belgium, Germany, the UK, Russia, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, South American countries, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Malaysia."
The exporter concludes, "Once the fresh strawberry season comes to an end in February, we'll be starting another job of no less importance, which is exporting frozen strawberries. Here too, I expect volumes to exceed those of last season, namely 200,000 tonnes."
For more information:
Amr Kadah
Fruit.Farm
Tel.: +20 100 928 8377
Email: [email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/amr-kadah
www.facebook.com/fruitfarm.egypt