After a season marked by declining profitability and the ramifications of the Covid19 crisis, Egyptian onion growers are pleased that "the current season is bringing strong demand along with better prices", says Mostafa Antar of the Egyptian grower MH exports.
"The weather conditions have been very favorable for onions this year in Egypt, which is reflected in the sizes. We have sizes from 40 to 90 which are the most demanded by importers. We have also increased our acreage this year as we expected the increased demand. We have gone from an export capacity of 700 tons to 1000 tons per month."
The drop in European onions production, due to the climatic conditions in Europe, has significantly increased the demand for Egyptian onions according to Mostafa: "Egypt is a country with a long history of agricultural exports, we are able to adapt to the standards of European countries, especially concerning the reduction of pesticide residues, that's why Egypt is the first choice for European customers in the context of shortage of onions, in addition to other parameters such as geographical proximity and the large production of onions in Egypt."
In terms of markets, the producer points out that there are no notable changes this year: "We expect the same trends in demand, with the majority of volumes to be exported to Germany, France, Italy, Holland, Russia, and Asian markets such as Malaysia, Pakistan, and the UAE."
However, the producer expects prices to increase: "It's inevitable, our costs have increased and there is more demand than supply this year."
For more information
Mostafa Antar
MH Exports
Tel: +20 109 330 1409
Email: [email protected]