July: Egypt Grape Market Update

Egypt started the season about 2 weeks later than planned, instead of mid-May, most suppliers did not have a fully mature crop until the end of May. This delay was due to the weather factors that delayed the crop's maturity.

This delay caused most of the suppliers to lose a big chunk of their programs to Europe (being the main destination for the early Egyptian grapes), mainly the UK, Netherlands & Russia, on the other hand, big quantities of Chilean grapes invaded the market in Europe this season for the first time which caused a lot of headache to Egyptian exporters and also has driven the selling price down. This situation caused many crops to be dumped in the local market and affected the export prices as well, by the end of June, suppliers were exporting at prices 25-30% lower than the beginning of June.

According to the most supplier, their exports decreased by 40-50% compared to the same period last season. Right now, we are in the second half of the season with the late varieties like Crimson, Red Globe, and Autumn Royal, and the demand is still lower than last season, and prices are dropping.