Importing Polish apples does not seem to be very popular at the moment. According to Mohamed Marawan, owner of Polish apple exporter Sarafruit, the lower demand has multiple reasons: “Looking at current demand for Polish apples, it seems to be rather weak in general at the moment. First of all, the strength of the Polish currency affects the apple prices for export and the importing countries have their own apple production. The demand was there for Gala Royal apples, but there is only a small amount available on the market. The preference for these apples mean there is also lower interest in any other variety.”
As FreshPlaza notes, trading with Egypt has been a headache for multiple seasons now, but Marawan does hope things will finally change in the next season. “When we look at this current season, the trade with Egypt has been very slow and this is even more so the case right now, as Ramadan is going on. On top of that, Egypt is already having its summer fruits, the currency situation hasn’t improved at all as there is no stability for their currency whatsoever. These combined factors has made trade very slow, but I still believe that Egypt will come back on track in the next apple season. There are currently developments and investments ongoing that should improve the situation.”
Read also: High prices, stable supplies – Polish exporters are happy with the apple season
Logistical challenges are still apparent with the Red Sea crisis, as sometimes transit times are doubled, which not all apples can handle, Marawan explains: “At the moment the transportation with long transit time can affect the quality of the apples exported from Poland. These apples should not have to travel more than 45 days, but not they sometimes take 85 or even 90 days to get to the destination. This won’t be solved until a solution comes for the Red Sea blockade, which could still be a while off.”
It is vital that all of the apples get sold before the new season, or new problems could arise. “Stored volumes of apples are still waiting to being sold. Some exporters are waiting for better prices, but mostly it’s a waiting game for customers. I hope and wish that most will be sold before the new season, otherwise other problems may appear, such as a lack of places to store the new crop. Or something even more dangerous for the quality of the new crop, farmers may not have enough funds to take care of their new crop,” Marawan concludes.
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