A combination of many factors is seriously affecting the Egyptian citrus export industry. The situation is reaching major proportions at the end of the season, in what Egyptian exporters are now calling "a crisis," and has led to a halt in citrus packing at most of the country's packing houses this week. Osama Saleh, commercial manager of HoudElNile reports on the situation.
The exporter says, "Everyone knows what we're going through this season. On the one hand, there's the ongoing crisis in the Red Sea, which has had an impact on export activity, leading to a 15% drop in orange exports compared with a normal year. We also witnessed prolonged periods of high temperatures, even higher than in previous years, which had a negative impact on orange production, resulting in lower production volumes and smaller sizes."
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On the commercial front, things are no less complicated. Saleh says, "Egyptian citrus fruits face competition from countries such as Iran and Spain, but we manage to get by. However, this season, with the emergence of citrus processing plants in Egypt, many farmers are now preferring to sell directly to juice factories in the local market. Orange prices have seen a significant increase in recent days, approaching EGP 25 per kilogram, which is approximately $490 per ton, before any processing or packaging!"
Exporters can no longer keep up with this increase, given the current market prices for fresh oranges. Saleh says, "Usually, prices increase towards the end of the season because it's more difficult to source quality oranges. But this year, prices are much higher because of the current situation and the emergence of citrus concentrate factories, which changed the game radically."
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"The global markets have no other choice but to accept higher citrus prices, and this new situation overall, as a fait accompli. It's either that or stop working," Saleh continues. It seems that work is slowly resuming in the packing houses due to a lack of choice. Saleh says, "At HoudelNile, we have resumed citrus packing today. We have our own production and enough volumes to cover the needs of our packing houses. However, the crisis is still affecting packing houses that have no production or are not yet able to pass on the new prices to their customers."
"Everyone is apprehensive about how the season will end. Indeed, many foreign customers have begun to accept the situation and anticipate what lies ahead. It's a situation that's not going to change and is becoming a new reality, as way more factories are coming into Egypt with a big capacity to absorb large volumes of fresh oranges and other fruits. They enjoy a strong demand for juicing and drying locally and in international markets," Saleh concludes.
For more information
Osama Saleh
HoudElNile for Investment and Agricultural Development
Tel : +20 1208704237
Email: o.saIeh@houdelnile.com