Egypt's Vegetable and Fruit Exports Dropped in Early October

The first week of October has witnessed a significant slump in the exports of vegetables and fruits from Egypt. The decline calculated to be around 5% for vegetables and 18.1% for fruits, compared to exports in the last week of September. The General Administration of Food Safety reported that vegetable exports amounted to 20,000 tons, a decrease from the 21,000 tons shipped during the last week of September. Specific commodities such as potatoes saw an increase in exports, growing to 8,000 tons from 7,000; while onions and green beans witnessed a slump, with the former sliding to 7,000 tons from 8,000 and the latter dropping 1,000 tons to end up with 5,000 tons. On the other hand, fruit exports also fell to 22,000 tons, a 4,000-ton drop compared to the last week of September. Pomegranates, while still leading the fruits, saw their exports slipping by 1,000 tons to 10,000, and mangoes followed suit with a decrease of 2,000 tons down to 7,000. Even strawberries weren't spared from this falling trend, as their exports also dwindled by 1,000 tons to 5,000. The Food Safety Administration concluded its report by stating that the certified food export messages reached 3,310, with the exported goods totaling 160,000 tons, including 560 varieties of fresh vegetables, fruits, flour, and various food products. Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Italy were listed as the largest importers of Egyptian products among the 150 importing countries. The major port for food export was Suez, with a total of 515 messages, followed by Alexandria and Cairo Airport with 460 and 400 messages respectively.