Mixed success for the first half of the Egyptian citrus season

The first half of the citrus season in Egypt has been a mixed success. According to Eslam Gelila of the Egyptian exporter Gelila, volumes have increased significantly, and demand has been very strong, but the problem of an abundance of small sizes has had an impact on exporters. 

"This year, exported citrus volumes are estimated at 2 million tons, compared to 1.6 million tons last year."

"That's an increase of about 25%. Demand is clearly up as our traditional competitors have been affected by various problems, such as the earthquake in Turkey and the drought and increased production costs in Spain, given that the citrus season has not yet started in South Africa. Unfortunately, we have not taken full advantage of this situation since we have experienced a problem of insufficient large sizes" explains Gelila.