In the 2023/24 season, Egypt remained one of the leading exporters of fresh strawberries to several Southeast Asian countries, despite a slight decrease in shipments compared to the previous season, EastFruit notes. As a result, Egypt will secure second place in the overall ranking of suppliers of this berry to the markets of Malaysia and Singapore.
While Egypt led in the 2022/23 season with 1.7 thousand tons, the current season's export of Egyptian fresh strawberries to Malaysia and Singapore will be just over 1.5 thousand tons. Nevertheless, this figure remains one of the highest in history and exceeds the average export volume in this direction over the previous five seasons by two-thirds.
Although Singapore and Malaysia are not among the world's leading importers of fresh strawberries, they still represent a potential market of 6-7 thousand tons annually. Since the 2018/19 season, the import of garden strawberries in these countries has increased by a quarter, mainly due to Malaysia, while the volumes of purchases in Singapore have grown more slowly.
This contrasts sharply with the situation in Hong Kong, which remains the leader in the import of fresh strawberries in Southeast Asia, while Singapore and Malaysia occupy the second and third places, respectively. Since the 2018/19 season, Hong Kong has reduced its import of this berry by a third to 5 thousand tons, while in Singapore, the volumes in the current season should exceed 4 thousand tons, and in Malaysia, more than 3 thousand tons. Thailand is also approaching the top 3 importers, having increased its import of fresh strawberries by 50% to 3 thousand tons since the 2018/19 season.
Egypt is currently mainly present in the markets of Malaysia and Singapore, while supplies to the Hong Kong market have only once exceeded 100 tons per year, and Egyptian exporters have no experience working with Thailand. In the markets of Malaysia and Singapore, Egyptian strawberries play a key role from November to March, with South Korea being Egypt's main competitor. At the end of the 2023/24 season, South Korea surpassed Egyptian suppliers in exports to these two markets.
In addition to Egypt and South Korea, importers from Malaysia and Singapore also focus on purchasing fresh strawberries from Australia and the USA. Australian berries are mainly present on supermarket shelves from August to November, while American ones are available year-round, with peak supplies from May to August. Smaller volumes of strawberries are also imported from Japan, which targets the premium market segment from December to May.
Source: east-fruit.com