There’s strong demand in Europe for the Egyptian table grapes this season, FreshPlaza informs.
Mariya Dermendzhieva, CEO of Bulgarian fresh produce trader Triland, says: “The current Egyptian grapes season is very interesting in several ways. The demand from Europe is strong and stable. For a second year in a row, the prices for Europe for the first 5 weeks of the season are much better than the prices for the Asia markets. Some markets in Africa turn out to be very interesting for the Egyptian grapes export as well.”
According to Dermendzhieva, a lot of Egyptian farms have been struggling to achieve the quality that European importers demand. “The quality of the grapes is a challenge. There are lots of farms with problematic quality, which makes it difficult for packers to outsource fruits that are good, at reasonable prices. This leads to an early end for some of the varieties, as the export quality is simply too limited, and sales run smoothly for those that are available. This also allows the good farms that produce high-quality fruit to prove that hard work in the field is rewarded in the end.”
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With the current logistical challenges, it’s specifically difficult to get the produce to Asian markets without delays, Dermendzhieva explains: “When it comes to logistics, exporting to the Far East is a gamble. We target only direct vessels for our main markets in Southeast Asia. This limits us to a single shipping line per destination, and of course, this results in a lack of flexibility. The combination of fast changes in fruit availability and vessel cancellations or delays makes it extremely difficult to organize our export and to make sure we deliver at the needed time.”
“Despite all changes with the start of the Crimson grapes, we expect that all aspects of this grape season will smooth out and we will be able to fulfil our programs with shipments until the middle of September,” Dermendzhieva concludes.
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