Apple varieties grown in Poland tend to be pretty traditional with Idared, Golden Delicious and Gala Must dominating the growing landscape. Despite his best efforts, Mohamed Marawan, Managing Director for Mazafruit has been unable to convince growers to replace the Idared with other varieties like the Gala Royal or the Gala Schniga. He says that it has been an uphill battle trying to convince them to switch over, which will mean extra work, when the the Idared variety pretty much grows itself.
Mazafruit was fortunate enough to not be affected by the Russian ban, unlike other Polish apple companies, due to the fact that they were already sending out most of their apples to Northern Africa and the Middle East.
The Middle East and African market prefers a sweeter apple and does not have much interest in sour apples popular in other markets. Along with purchasing good quantities of Golden Delicious, they also like very red apples, with colouration of 70% or more.
Revolutions, change of currency and corruption, in countries such as Egypt, have caused difficulties with trade. The governments and banks are not helping customers obtain stable currencies like the Euro or the dollar which is causing them to turn to the black market. As a result, many traders are losing a lot of money in conversion which is causing a poor market.
Many traders sending products to Egypt are also caught in a catch 22 position. If they decide to send second class apples in order to keep the price down, it is very likely that they will have difficulties selling because consumers only want the best quality. On the other side, if they only send premium quality apples, there are currently very few people who can afford them so there is also a big chance that they will not be able to sell these apples either. Only hotels and restaurants can still afford the first class apples, but only in small quantities.
One factor still in favour of Polish exporters, along with other EU countries, is the custom clearance and fees agreement with the Egyptian government. The situation is even more dire for exporters outside of the EU who are paying up to 40% for customs fees.
Out of the Middle Eastern markets, Saudi Arabia is becoming a good market for European fruit. Their currency is stable, but they are not requesting as much as Egypt and countries in Northern Africa.
