Egyptian carrots are breaking through the international markets

The carrot season has come to an end in Egypt as Egyptian producers continue to improve their produce and conquer new markets. For Zayed Lahseen, CEO of Afrigoodgrow, this is something of an achievement, given that carrots industry only began a few years ago in the country. The exporter looks back on this journey and how Egypt is making its mark on the carrot market.

Zayed says: "Carrots are a new export product in Egypt. Previously, the quality of Egyptian carrots, grown from local varieties, was poor and could not be exported. Development work was carried out and we began to plant well-known varieties from the Netherlands and France. The result was a success, pleasing growers, the local market, and export markets. We used to export mainly to Russia, but this year we saw very strong demand from Europe, particularly the UK.

What has enabled Egyptian carrots exporters to break through this year is the crisis in Eastern Europe, which has become a global crisis. "Rising energy costs led to a reduction in European production," explains Zayed. "These markets turned to other origins for several products, including carrots. We were ready to convince the markets with our good prices and excellent quality. An indication of this quality is the fact that we export our carrots in plastic bags, thanks to their sturdiness, whereas other origins are forced to export in cardboard boxes."