After a delayed start, the season for Egyptian grapes is about to reach its end. For Mazeed, the season has been great, despite challenging weather conditions.
“Due to the temperatures during the Egyptian winter, the start of the season was delayed. This in turn led to a later harvest time than usual,” says Reham Kamal, export manager for Mazeed Produce. “We cultivate three varieties of grapes, the Red/Flame seedless grapes, the White/sugerone seedless grapes and Red Globe seeded grapes.”
In terms of volumes, it’s been a very good season for Mazeed. “It’s been a successful season, with about 95 per cent of our production destined for export. We expect to have exported about 300 tons of sugerone and flame seedless grapes this season. Fruit Logistica in Berlin may have played a big part in this, as it really helped Egyptian exporters expand their potential markets. We target Europe, specifically Germany, UK, Holland and Poland. However we also have our eyes on Asia, exporting our produce to China, Malaysia and Hong Kong. On our own continent, Africa, we have entered markets like Sudan and Kenya.” Kamal explains.
The most prominent doors that were opened by attending Fruit Logistica were those of Germany itself. “We managed to land a big deal in Germany. We followed the updates for the EU permitted pesticides list. We are also very careful about the levels of MRLs and the number of substances that are required by these new clients, as they are very important to us. All in all the exhibition was a great opportunity for us.”
