The marketing season for Egyptian sweet potatoes got off to a bumpy start this year. "Normally, a lot of money is made in the first phase of the season. But this year has been entirely different: there have been large surpluses in exports since the beginning of the season in early July, which is clearly due to many new exporters entering the market. As a result, prices have so far been well below the multi-year average. We started the season with package prices of around 4.50 euros and are currently between 5.00 and 5.50 euros, still 0.50 to 1.50 euros below the average. Due to the loss of many smaller exporters, volumes are now falling noticeably, which is having a positive effect on the market. We now hope that the price will stabilise at 5.50 euros," summarises Mohamed Moustafa, who serves food retail and wholesale customers in Germany and the Netherlands.
The Egyptian product is expected to be available until February, continues the experienced importer. "Bellevue now accounts for around 60 per cent of our volumes and Beauregard for the rest. Until a few years ago, however, the Beauregard variety was far ahead. Bellevue is generally a lot cheaper to sell, and inflation has probably helped to accelerate this market shift." Nevertheless, both varieties still have a right to exist on the market, emphasises Moustafa.
Despite the difficult marketing situation so far, the quality of the Egyptian sweet potatoes has all been satisfactory. Moustafa: "This year we are fortunate to be able to offer the right product for every market segment. From industrial goods to class II and class I, everything is available and in the desired quantities. The same applies to the respective grades from S to X, so there are currently no open gaps in the market. Meanwhile, the USA is only slowly starting the season and the qualities are not yet so convincing at the beginning. As a result, I assume that Egyptian sweet potatoes will certainly dominate the supply until Christmas."
Sweet potatoes under the private label MahdyFresh
International cooperation and expansion of the product range
The name Starfruit has been a household name in Hamburg for many years. Until a few years ago, the company operated a stand business at the wholesale market, but at the moment it is mainly involved in fixed programmes for the German food retail sector. The main products are still Egyptian spring onions, sweet potatoes and citrus fruits. Another product pillar of the growing company is mangoes, which were sourced from both Egypt and Costa Rica during the summer months. "On the whole, we are satisfied with this year's seasonal sales. We finished the Costa Rican season in week 37, although the quality has deteriorated somewhat in the last weeks. We offered both shipped and flight goods from Egypt until week 38. Now we are continuing seamlessly with Egyptian pomegranates of the 116 variety, followed by Baladi and Wonderful. We can't say too much about the market conditions yet: we can only say that Turkey has started the new season with relatively low prices."
Left. Egyptian spring onions. Right: Different mango varieties are sourced from Egypt, namely Naomi, Osteen, Kent and Shelli.
Photo credit: Starfruit International GmbH
For more information:
Mohamed Moustafa
Starfruit International GmbH
Email: [email protected]
https://star-fruit.de/