“We are here working day by day, but it's risky for our business,” said Haitham Gallab of AgroEgypt. Gallab exports citrus to Malaysia, Iraq, Kenya and Russia, and though he's able to get shipments to his customers, he noted that past events, and the possibility of further unrest in the future, has already affected the way he does business.
“We used to get paid in advance for our shipments to European buyers, but now they're saying that we have to ship the fruit first before payment,” said Gallab. That's the case if he's fortunate enough to have customers willing to buy Egyptian fruit, but Gallab noted that it's also been harder to bring in new customers because of the distrust many buyers have about future unrest in Egypt.
“If troubles happen here, the first thing that will happen is that the ports will be closed,” said Gallab. “That's happened to us before, and what happens is that a lot of goods are left in the port with nowhere to go.” Opting for air transport is cost-prohibitive, and even if it weren't, Gallab noted that he's seen reduced flights to Egypt, further limiting transportation options. But despite the possibility of future troubles, Gallab is hopeful the citrus export season will go well this year.
“We're hopeful,” said Gallab. “Production for navels declined by 25 percent from last year, and though prices have been unstable during the beginning of the season, demand has been good.”
