Profound changes are affecting the Egyptian citrus industry this season, culminating in the complete shutdown of fresh citrus packing at most packing houses in recent days. Walid Hassan from TC Fruits reports on the situation.
To recall, the emergence of orange juice concentrate factories in Egypt has created fierce competition for orange sourcing, limiting the supply available to packers exporting fresh citrus. Today, packers can no longer keep up, according to Hassan. "Since work resumed after the Eid vacations, farmers have been demanding excessively high prices. The majority of packaging houses can't accept these prices and have decided to suspend their citrus programs."
© TC
"Citrus concentrate factories offer attractive prices and better payment terms, even prepayment of the entire amount, and can absorb large volumes. Today, growers want over EGP 20 per kilo for the raw material for Valencia oranges and lemons, which is no longer profitable for exporters. After waxing, sorting, grading, and packaging, and bearing in mind that much of the raw material is not exportable, the market cannot accept these prices," the exporter adds.
These complications are disrupting the end of the orange season in Egypt. Hassan says: "Most packing houses are now turning to other fruits such as grapes, whose season starts soon. Orange exporters who have their own production can continue to supply citrus programs."
"This is the beginning of a lasting change in the industry," Hassan continues. "There's a shift towards processing citrus in Egypt at the expense of exporting fresh citrus. Major export players have either already launched their citrus concentrate factories or are in the process of doing so."
This shift punishes practices in the fresh citrus export industry that were detrimental to growers, according to Hassan. "Growers prefer to deal with factories that don't seek to lower prices for smaller sizes of oranges and don't apply prohibitive payment terms."
"In addition, processing allows a much longer shelf life for citrus and represents a good solution for large companies and small-holder farmers alike. We are witnessing a radical change in the industry," Hassan concludes.
For more information:
Walid Hassan
TC Fruits
Tel: +201012452637
Email: walid.hassan@tcfruits.com
www.tcfruits.com