Suspension of Egyptian Onion Exports Not Enough to Decrease Local Market Prices

The Egyptian government, in an attempt to control the soaring prices of onions in the local market, had banned exports from October 1 until the end of the year. The international demand for Egyptian onions had surged, leading to an unbearable increase in prices for local consumers. Despite these measures, the prices on the domestic market have not seen substantial reduction. Bahaa Rajab, the Chief Marketing Officer at Glamour Export, stated that the export quality onions are being sold at the same prices as prior to the export ban, as they are not the same as those sold in the local market. The prices have remained the same level even after the suspension of exports. One of the reasons prices haven't significantly dropped is due to the current off-season of onions in Egypt, as the majority volume of onions are already exported. Last year, onion exports had increased from 300,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes despite a drop in acreage, due to high global demand, escalating the local market prices by 190% compared to the last season. Looking forward, there are predictions of an increase in onion cultivable area in the next season. This is mainly due to renewed interest from growers and also due to the implementation of the land reclamation projects, including the 'New Delta' mega-project targeted to reclaim 924,000 ha in the desert, of which, at least 7,500 ha is meant for onion production.