As predicted, large sized citrus has been hard to come by in Egypt. Mostafa Ali, commercial manager for Egyptian fresh produce exporter Rula for Land Reclamation says: “At the moment, there is good demand for the Honey Murcott from various regions, specifically the Far Eastern markets. The Valencia situation is really tough, a high percentage of the production is smaller sized. There is demand for sizes 48,56,64 but unfortunately of only 10 per cent of the harvest was of these sizes. Some clients accepted the situation and have instead taken the smaller sizes with the big sizes, and others have not. Unfortunately, I had to miss out on numerous opportunities because of the shortage of the larger sizes this season.”

As there is a large volume of small sized citrus available, importers are trying to lower the prices to the point where exporters can no longer make a profit, Ali explains. “The shortage means that the overall demand is high for the big sizes compared to last season. Last year the production of the big sizes was abundant. For the small sizes this season the demand is ok, but the importers know well that there is a large production of small sizes. As a result, they try to push the prices down to points where it will not cover the cost levels.”

Despite the challenges Ali hopes to work it out with the importers for the remainder of the season. “With a season like this it’s hard to predict what the world will look like in a few weeks. It’s been a difficult season, but demand will remain high for large sizes and we will simply have to try to balance some of these orders out with smaller sized fruits,” he concludes.

For more information:
Mostafa Ali
Rula for Land Reclamation
Tel: +201007350313
Email: Mustafa.ali@wadigroup.com.eg 
www.rulafarms.com