The Egyptian garlic campaign is halfway through. With two months to go before the end of the season, growers are having to step up their efforts to maintain the same level of quality as at the start of the season, which is driving up prices. Mohamed Shaaban, CEO of Garlico, comments on the situation.
Shaaban says: "The Egyptian garlic campaign is going very well this year. Quality is really good in May and June, and we are facing the challenge of maintaining top-notch quality. At the beginning of the season, prices were low, but they quickly rose compared to last season. I'm delighted to report that at Garlico, we supplied 100% of orders received."
Regarding the market performance, Shaaban says: "Taiwan and Brazil have a high demand for Egyptian garlic, while the USA, Canada, and Europe are slower at the moment. We encountered a problem in the Taiwanese market when a container was rejected due to the presence of soil on a very small quantity of garlic. We're making sure this doesn't happen again, by putting more effort into cleaning and sorting.
Despite rising prices, Egyptian production remains competitive in the market, according to Shaaban. He says: "This year, Chinese garlic is exceptionally expensive, and Spanish harvested volumes are less than usual, so much so that we have exported more volumes to Spain this year. Our garlic is now less expensive than that of the Chinese and, what's more, requires fewer customs charges. This puts us in an excellent position in the competition."
"The big challenge now is to continue in July, August, and September to supply the same level of quality as in May and June. This can only be done at high prices. The further into the season we get, the harder it is to maintain the same quality. For example, we needed 1,000 kg of raw garlic to sort 650-700 kg of good quality for export, after cutting the roots and discarding the inferior quality. But from July onwards, 1,000 kg of raw garlic can give a maximum of 500 kg of same grade garlic," explains the grower.
"Prices will continue to rise," concludes Shaaban, "as demand is still high and we are still receiving orders from Brazil and the United States. The drop in exportable volumes is contributing to higher prices, but quality will remain excellent until the end of the season."
For more informatio:
Mohamed Shaaban
Garlico
Tel: 00201113095812
Email: [email protected]
www.garlico-eg.com