Egypt might be coming out ahead after the pandemic becomes a distant memory. According to one Egyptian exporter, demand for all kinds of Egyptian produce is at an all-time high, doing wonders for the growth of his business.
The Egyptians are having a pretty good time in terms of business, states Fruit Kingdom CEO Amr Kadah. The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture is also rather positive on the seasons in his report: “In Egypt there are many products in season, like grapes, pomegranate, mango, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, frozen strawberries and several others. From the report of our Ministry of Agriculture and the forecast for the next period, it is evident that we have achieved a significant increase in exports of fresh fruits and vegetables at a national level, and even greater growth is expected in the frozen program. This honestly reflects the same feeling I have with my company. Despite the difficult times of the corona virus pandemic, we have never done better than this year. And we don't intend to stop here. I work on new products, packaging, quality standards, and most of all on my people. My co-workers are the key to my success and, together with me, all of them from farm workers to managers, are working hard to grow a top product and find new and quality customers.”
Now that business is booming, Kadah feels he has to make the most of it by creating a solid brand around his products. “Our most important goal is to create a brand, brand all our products and position ourselves in targeted markets, as well as present ourselves to any new markets. Due to the pandemic, the current, conventional ways of achieving these goals are a thing of the past. Fruit Kingdom has adapted to the new times and way of doing business and I am looking forward to learning new things too.”
Shipments via sea and air have been difficult for quite a few markets these past few months. Kadah hasn’t had too many issues, other than the ones he’s seen long before the pandemic hit. The importance of smooth transport has become apparent to Kadah during this time.
“There will always be a problem with logistics, at least that's what I thought before the coronavirus even took place, and I’ve used road, sea and air transport. Some countries are still closing their borders. This naturally hinders road transport, and air freight is very expensive at the moment. Only now do I see that the problems we have or will ever have in Egypt, are insignificant compared to what can happen if the logistics processes are not managed in the right way. You just need to find the right partners for logistics services both in Egypt and in the country of destination or re-export, and life will be much simpler.”
“Egypt is an attractive option for both foreign capital investors and agricultural experts. But it is the high demand for Egyptian fruits and vegetables, which is much higher than expected, that led me to find people who think like me and complement me as the owner and chief agronomist of my company. The people I’ve surrounded myself with are also experts and have extensive experience in working with fruits and vegetables. But in a nutshell, just the increased demand is the reason for such a global turnaround for Fruit Kingdom. Egyptians are known to be somewhat conservative people, but never closed to other cultures, religions and languages. So when demand for our produce soars, you can see it works wonders!” Kadah concludes.
