Tough Season for Egyptian Citrus Exporters Due to the Unequal Size Distribution of Valencia Oranges

The 2022/23 season is proving to be a tough one for all citrus exporters in Egypt, as there is large production volumes of valencia oranges but a poor size distribution with a shortage in big sizes and an oversupply of small-sized oranges in the market. Suppliers are trying to sell small-sized oranges at low margins or even at a loss sometimes because the market is flooded. Big sizes such as 36 and 40 are almost non-existent this season, sizes 48/56/64 only make up around 18% of the production, while sizes 72/80/88/100 represent around 60% of the production, and size 113/125 around 22%. This size distribution makes it very challenging to supply to markets which prefer large sizes and puts the selling prices in the other markets at risk because the suppliers panic and sell at low prices.