The Egyptian table grape season has been a positive one, says Said Zidan, Vice Chairman of Egyptian fresh produce exporter Eden for Export : "The season as a whole was a good season, despite the global challenges that are currently taking place. We were able to achieve progress over the last season in terms of quantities, entering new markets, and expanding the customer base in Europe, England, Far East, Africa, and Gulf, which led to achieving some improvement in financial returns. Although, there were some concerns about the efficiency of the international trade movement after the disruption of vessels movement in the Red Sea and the decision of many shipping lines to changing their routes. However, things went well. There was an increase in the cost of some destinations shipping cost and transit time, but all in all, things went fine."
The climate did make the Egyptian table grape season more challenging, as the high temperatures did have a negative effect, Zidan explains. "Climate changes and high temperatures were higher than their normal levels during the period of the various physiological stages of grape crop growth. This began from October, before the stage of breaking dormancy, and the failure of grape trees to obtain the required chill to obtain regular blooming after the stage of breaking dormancy, has led to the blooming process not going very well. High temperatures and humidity are a good environment for the appearance of pests and insects, thus causing damage to the plant. It's also possible for high temperatures to have a negative impact on the berry size and weight, and colouring progress of coloured varieties as well. However, we have very professional engineers and supervisors, who worked hard to reduce the severity of these effects on the grape crop through applying the good agriculture practise regarding irrigation, fertilization, crop protection, and field operations."
All of these abnormalities caused the harvest of the table grapes to commence earlier than it normally would, Zidan says: "As for the marketing window of the Egyptian table grapes, the high temperatures had an impact on the harvest date, which started earlier than usual. This in turn led to the arrival of Egyptian grapes with the presence of Indian grapes still in the markets, and this wasn't good from a marketing standpoint, at the beginning of the season. The demand for table grapes was very good this season, especially with regard to white grapes, which remained consistent throughout the season. This was in contrast to the demand for red grapes, which decreased earlier than usual. Demand is affected by the quantity of Egyptian grapes already in the markets, especially in Europe, and it has also been affected by the grapes coming from Spain."
For Eden, the plan is to increase both production and exports of the table grapes every year. According to Zidan, they've been successful in reaching their goal this year. "The volume of production and export increased by 30% over the previous year, as Eden exported 1,500 tons of grapes last season. This season 1,950 tons of table grapes were exported. We plan to reach 2,500 tons during the next season, with the aim of reaching 4,000 tons of table grapes exports in a single season, during the next five years."
In terms of investments, Eden does not back down. Zidan emphasizes the company is building a new packhouse and cold storage for several of their products. "We do not stop investing in table grapes or other crops. Accordingly, our planting area of table grapes has been increased and some new crops have also been added. We're currently negotiating with a group of some international breeders, to obtain some new varieties of white, red and black seedless table grapes. We're also building the largest packhouse and cold storage for table grapes in Sadat City, which will also benefit some other crops, such as citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, and potatoes."
Eden will also make its way to Hong Kong in September, to exhibit during Asia Fruit Logistica. Zidan is excited about the prospect of meeting new people: "Asia Fruit Logistica is one of the most important global events for fruits and vegetables business, and as usual, I'm sure this will be very helpful for our Agri business. Anyone wanting to meet us can find us in Hall 5, stand 5Q59. Come say hi!" he concludes.
For more information:
Said Zidan
Eden for Export
Tel: +20 100 0003007
Email: [email protected]
www.edenagricultural.com