The Valencia season in Egypt is in full swing, and demand is at a good position right now, as the season in India is coming to an end. Prices are lower than they were last season, but there are shortages for larger sized Valencia oranges.
It’s been well over a month since the Valencia season started in Egypt. According to Abdullah Tharwat, Business development manager for Egyptian produce exporter Pyramids, the prices for the Valencia oranges are expected to go down in the upcoming weeks. “The Valencia season started at a good price, as the price of the oranges in the farms was around $0.27 to $0.30 and it will be just a few more weeks until the price starts going down to $0.20 - $0.25. The production for small sizes is just about perfect in the farms, but there is a significant shortage of large sized Valencias.”
Tharwat thinks demand will start picking up soon, as the Indian season is ending: “The expectation is that demand will be very high in the upcoming weeks, as the season in India will end and China has started importing their oranges from Egypt. The exported volumes are slightly lower this year, about 15% lower. This is due to covid-19 and the weather in some countries, affecting the consumption volumes,” he explains. “The last season, price increased dramatically at the end of the season. Consumers were looking for more vitamin C, causing demand to skyrocket. However, this season prices are about 20 cents lower, but in the same way as previous season costs for shipping are rising.”
Concurrently with the Valencia season Pyramids is also dealing with frozen strawberries at this time, Tharwat states. “Frozen strawberries is one of products that Egypt is very famous for, and we have a solid market share globally, as Egypt exports around 160,000 tons per season. Egypt’s frozen strawberries are the number one in the German market. As Pyramids Fruits, we deal around 10,000 tons or 6% of Egypt’s total market share.”
“We wish all the people around the world to stay safe and want to express that we really miss participating in exhibitions. As all communication now goes through online channels, we miss meeting our customers during events.” Tharwat concludes.
