Egypt consolidates itself as the world’s leading exporter of Valencia orange

Egypt has become the world’s largest exporter of valencia orange, taking the position away from Spain. Even though 95% of Egypt’s surface is desert, the country has nearly 168,000 hectares of orange trees spread through its arid geography as if they were a mirage; and not only in areas of the Nile delta, since 60% of them are located in reclaimed desert areas.

exporter of valencia orange

The orange is the most cultivated citrus in the country, accounting for 80% of the total citrus production, and the Valencia variety is, by far, the most planted variety.

“In recent years, Spanish producers have not shown much interest in the Valencia variety. They have preferred to plant easy-to-peel citrus fruits, while producers in Egypt opted to plant more oranges, mostly of the Valencia variety,” stated Mahmud Shishini, the commercial director of Mafa, one of the most thriving agricultural companies in Egypt.

His company received support from Israeli agricultural experts after the 1979 peace agreement between the two countries and was the company that, three decades ago, introduced the seed of the Valencia orange that the country currently grows.

“It is a type of orange that is distinguished by its good quality and that is much cheaper than other varieties,” says Abdelkader Hasan, owner of a major agricultural export company. A combination of factors explains the success of this type of citrus in what was once barren land. “For starters, it is a seed that everyone knows and knows how to plant. In addition, it is a simple and very durable variety. The third factor is that the climate here is ideal. Finally, Spain can have a limited space to grow this fruit, but if we have water we can plant it in hundreds if not thousands of hectares. It is an investment model that is easy to replicate,” says Shishini.

exporter of valencia orange

In 2019, the last year for which there are records, Egypt shipped around 1.8 million tons of oranges abroad, slightly more than Spain, according to data from the International Trade Center, a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and United Nations. Both, however, are a long way from the third-largest producer, South Africa.

The main markets for Egyptian oranges are Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, the Netherlands – considered the door to Europe – and the United Arab Emirates. In the last year, however, the Arab country has achieved new markets for its oranges, which have reached destinations as diverse as Brazil, New Zealand, or Japan.

exporter of valencia orange

Brazil opened its market to citrus fruits from Egypt as a result of a Mercosur-Egypt free trade agreement, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. According to estimates by the Brazilian Arab Chamber of Commerce, the Egyptian orange could lead the Brazilian market within two years.

Sources :

Fresh Plaza

elindependiente.com 

The challenging season for Egyptian Mangoes

In the first week of July, the Egyptian press reported on the low mango yields this year, based on reports from growers in Ismailia, home to about one-third of Egyptian mangoes crops.

Egyptian Mangoes by Fresh Zone

Heat and black mould have been causing problems for Egyptian mangoes

Mangoes see a high demand domestically. According to Kamal Fathi, agriculture officials in Ismailia did not deny that there had been problems with the mango harvest this year, confirming complaints by farmers about the “black mold” that has infected some mango groves and reduced yields, director of agriculture in Ismailia.

Fathi added that another reason for the lower yield of the mango crop this year was climate change, as the heatwave that slammed the east of the country in March had stressed the trees, increased evaporation from the soil, and dried out the roots. The fruit had fallen from the trees prematurely and quickly spoiled because it was unripe, he said.

“This year, we are planting 300,000 fedans of mangoes and some one million farmers and workers are servicing the groves all year round, whether for export or distribution on the domestic market,” Mahmoud Atta, director of the Central Department of Horticulture at the Ministry of Agriculture in Cairo told english.ahram.org.

Egyptian Grapes Season Overview Report

Hot weather causes early start and high production for the Egyptian grape season

The Egyptian grapes season started a little earlier than expected, around May. The early arrival was caused mostly by hot weather, as Egypt has dealt with 45 degrees Celsius temperatures.

There will be higher production for the grapes in Egypt this season, combined with solid demand at the moment. The red grape varieties, such as Red Varieties Flame, Red Globe, and Crimson, are gaining ground as these grapes contain high levels of Brix. The Arabian countries prefer grapes with high Brix levels, whilst European countries prefer lower levels.

New destinations for Egyptian oranges Export

range exports are set to rise to 1.5 million tons in the 2020/2021 season. In 2019/2020, it was 1.37 million. That’s according to the US Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Cairo. There should be more exports, thanks to increased cultivation under favorable weather conditions.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, the Netherlands, China, and the United Arab Emirates are likely to remain the main export destinations for oranges from Egypt. Recent new export destinations for these oranges include New Zealand, Japan, and Brazil. In 2019/2020, Egyptian orange exports decreased by 343.000 tonnes compared to the previous season. The COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason for this.

Harvested area will grow by 3.5%
In recent years, the Egyptian government, private enterprises, and growers continually try to improve this crop. They replace old orchards with newer ones and improve irrigation techniques. They have also adopted up-to-date nutrient management programs and reduce post-harvest losses. Orange is the most important citrus crop in Egypt. It accounts for about 80% of the total citrus area.

For 2020/2021, FAS Cairo has predicted a total planted orange area of 168,000 ha. That’s roughly the same as in 2019/2020 when the planted area remained unchanged. Most of the orange-growing area is on reclaimed land. That represents 60% of the total area. Orchards in the Nile delta make up 40% of the total orange area.

The total harvested 2020/2021 area is an estimated 145.000 ha. That’s 3,5% more than last year. This increase is attributed to there being seven percent more bearing trees than the previous year. The favorable weather conditions during the flowering period also helped. That benefited the trees flowering and, as a result, the yields.

Varieties
The top Egyptian orange varieties include the following:

Washington Navel: This is the most important navel orange cultivated in, and exported from, Egypt. There are other lesser-known navel orange varieties like Navelate, Cara Cara, New Hall, Navelina, Fisher, Leng, Fukumoto, and Lane late too. Washington Navels starts coloring at the end of September and ripen from November to March. This medium to large orange variety is seedless and sweet-tasting. The peel is orange, and it has dark flesh.

Valencia: Concerning cultivated acreage, this variety ranks second after the Navels. The Nubaria region is thought to have the most Valencia orchards in Egypt. Valencias have a long ripening period, from March to July. Its flesh is juicy, and this round/oval-shaped orange is medium to large in size. The soft peel peels easily, and it has small seeds.

Egyptian farmers grow other kinds of oranges too. These include Baladi, Blood, Khalily, Yafawy, and Sweet varieties. These cultivation areas are small compared to the Navel and Valencia orange farms.

Source: Fresh Plaza , USDA