Until very recently, Egyptian onion exports have been thriving globally, especially in Europe, in a context of declining supply worldwide.
"We exported more onions than in the previous season," says Mohammed Hassan, CEO of On Trade. "At the national level, exports have exceeded 324 thousand tonnes to date. The increase in demand came at a time of lower acreage in Egypt, which raised prices."
However, the increase was circumstantial, and market configuration went back to its normal in September. As a result, Egyptian onions were kicked out of the European market. "Our export volumes to Europe remained high until August. Now European domestic production, particularly in the Netherlands, France, and Greece, has recovered. We now export most of our volumes to Arab countries, East Asia, and certain African markets."
Despite the increase in exports this year, market instability has caused commercial problems, says Mohammad. "Climatic conditions are getting more and more difficult, which increases production costs, particularly this year. The instability of the markets also caused a great fluctuation in prices, which sometimes changed every hour. There were times when we were forced to export at no profit."
For more information
Mohammad Hassan
On Trade
Tel/Whatsapp: +201062839734
Email: [email protected]