Egypt’s strawberry boom in Kazakhstan: exports up 100 times since 2018/19

In the 2022/23 season (spanning from July to June), Egypt made a remarkable entry into the ranks of major suppliers of fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan, securing the third spot, as reported by EastFruit. Furthermore, the current trends of the 2023/24 season suggest that Egypt is well-positioned not only to retain this status but also to significantly bolster its market presence in Kazakhstan.

“In recent years, Egypt has devoted considerable effort to diversify its export portfolio and penetrate new markets, including Kazakhstan. While Egyptian oranges have long been a staple in Kazakhstan, the introduction of fresh strawberries is a relatively recent development. Remarkably, exports of this fruit from Egypt to Kazakhstan have nearly tripled in just the first four months of the season compared to the entire previous season. Since the 2018/19 season, exports have surged by over a hundred times”, comments Yevhen Kuzin, Fruit & Vegetable Market Analyst at EastFruit.

Between November 2023 and February 2024, Kazakhstan imported 820 tons of fresh Egyptian strawberries. To put this in perspective, the total for the 2022/23 season was only 280 tons, with a previous four-season high of just 23 tons. This exponential growth in the 2022/23 season propelled Egypt into the top three exporters of fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan, trailing only behind Turkey and Azerbaijan. Given the current season’s performance, Egypt is likely to maintain or even surpass its competitors, especially considering its significant lead over Turkey in export volumes to Kazakhstan during the aforementioned period.