The season for pomegranates has just started in Egypt and will continue for about six weeks. The harvest was slightly delayed, but by now some of the packing of pomegranates has already begun. The market is under pressure though, as multiple countries are pushing the fruit.
“We’ve just started with the pomegranate season here in Egypt and expect the season to last for six weeks. Ghabbour Farms’ goal is to increase the volumes of our export to international markets, develop more sales channel and increase the quantities for the export of class 2 pomegranates,” Dr. Esraa Assaf, export manager for Ghabbour Farms (GB Farms) stated. “We’ve had a slight delay in the harvesting this season. However, the quality is very good and we’ve started packing already. Last season we achieved a perfect score when it comes to quality upon arrival for the Wonderful variety. We’d like to repeat that achievement this year, but also would like to perfect the 116 variety.”
The competition in the European market is very strong at the moment, says Dr. Assaf: “Honestly, In Europe there’s strong competition throughout, with Spain, Turkey, Morocco, Israel and Egypt all trying to fish in the same pond. It has put pressure on the market, resulting in lower prices. The average selling price is currently EUR 3.00 (Average)/box We plan to export around 400 tons of Wonderful pomegranates to several markets this season, including the Netherlands, United Kingdom and some countries in the Far East.”
Fruit Attraction is right around the corner, but this year GB Farms will not be exhibiting. “Unfortunately we won’t attend Fruit Attraction this year, but not because we don’t like the event. Fruit Attraction comes at a perfect timing for citrus deals, as well as other crops such as potatoes. What we liked about Fruit Attraction is that the size of the event is smaller, making more time available to spend with existing and potential customers and partners.” Dr. Assaf concludes.
