Halfway through the Egyptian sweet potato season, prices are falling due to increasing supply and fierce competition between exporters. Gehan Elshrief, executive manager of G Fresh Export & Import, reports on the progress of the campaign.
Gehan says: "At the beginning of the season, prices were higher due to lower initial supply. As the season progresses and supply increases, prices drop, and this is quite normal. For instance, Egyptian sweet potato prices have now halved compared to the beginning of the season."
"There are still plenty of sweet potato stocks in the country, and volumes are even exceeding our expectations," continues Gehan, "Several exporter profiles are present on the market, each with their own cost structure and quality. Therefore, there's a lot of competition and different prices. The rest of the season will bring stability."
The exporter gives an example: "At the beginning of the season, prices at the farm gate were 10-11 EGP per kg. That's the price before transport to the packing house, curing, washing, drying, and packing. At the curing station, sweet potatoes lose 15-20% of their weight. Also, the operations of each exporter during these different stages lead to different prices, and the average price is now at 50% of the season's starting price."
"At GFresh, we have the advantage of running our own curing facility and employing qualified staff experienced in sweet potatoes. This allows us to cut costs and to stay in the market longer when volumes start to dry up," concludes Gehan.
For more information:
Gehan Elsherif
G Fresh For Export & Import
Tel: +20 109 985 0716
Email: [email protected]
www.g-fresh.co