Strawberry Guide

The supply chain of strawberries in Egypt starts from the local farms to the exporting companies. Exporting companies either have the packing facilities or they rent close-by packing facilities. Middlemen are not common, agents or brokers also don’t play a big role in the industry.

Most big farms don’t have packing facilities, it is usually exporting companies that have packing facilities or they rent close-by packing facilities and they buy strawberries from local farms. 

Also, there are only a few renowned packing facilities

-Companies tend to rent packinghouses, as there is not a steady demand for strawberries. The packinghouses were initially built to process multiple types of fruits, but this was not executed well as there are only strawberry farms nearby, so there is no need for the packinghouses to be owned by the companies

-Middlemen are not common, agents/brokers also don’t play a big role in the industry

-Seasonality: From November to March 

In 2019, the top producer of strawberries was China, which held 39.7% of the global market share with an annual volume of 2.96M MT. This was followed by the United States (17.4%) with an annual volume of 1.30M MT, Mexico (7.8%) with 653.64K MT, Turkey (5.3%) with 440.97K MT, and Egypt (4.4%) with 362.64K MT.

The world’s annual average of producing strawberries between 2004-2018 was 8.3M MT (metric tons). For five years (2014-2018), the yearly growth rate was +14.3%, for three years (2016-2018) was +3.1%, and for one year until 2018 was +3.3%. In 2018, China was the largest producer of strawberries having contributed about 35.5% of the global production. This was followed by the United States (15.6%), Mexico (7.8%), and Turkey (5.3%). 

-Farms: 80% of strawberry farms are located in one region(Beheira Governate), and these farms only farm strawberries and nothing else

-Difference between export vs. domestic varieties: Within the local market, consumers don’t like high acid because they prefer sweeter varieties, which means it has a high Brix level but low acid = shorter shelf life

-Strawberries: An institution called EMCOCAL has created strawberry varieties which Egypt grows for exports -> Fortuna, Brilliance, Beauty, Winter Star (https://www.emcocal.com/strawberry-products/)

In 2019, Spain dominated the exporting side of the trade for strawberries, with an annual export value of USD 666.61M, which held about 30.4% of the global market share. This was followed by Mexico with 29.5% of the global market share with an annual export value of USD 647.03M, the United States (20.6%) with an export value of USD 451.77M, the Netherlands (12%) with an export value of USD 263.74M, and Belgium (8.3%) with an export value of USD 182.34M.

Major importing markets are Germany, Russia, UAE, and the UK

The most attractive market for exporters is Europe due to its proximity, supply chain security, and better price. 

In 2019, the United States dominated the global market on the purchasing side, accounting for 20.4% of the worldwide market share. The United States’ import value of USD 871.36M with an import quantity of around 186.50K MT, followed by Canada (USD 327.61M), Germany (USD 302.24M), the United Kingdom (USD 212.19M), and France (USD 163.06M).

It has been proven that traditional packages of wooden boxes with a capacity of 10-15 kg hasten the deterioration of the product, increasing physical damage, the presence of fungi, contributing to generate losses and damages, and in most cases, it leads to the total loss of the product, due to the beating of the fruit during transport, or fermentation during the storage.

In the national market, for shipping and distribution in bulk, it is recommended the use of washable and stackable plain packaging made of plastic that does not cause damage to the fruit.

For normal packaging, it is strongly recommended the use of new and disinfected plastic trays with a capacity of 5 kg covered with a plastic bag, with measures of 60cm x 40cm x 13cm. If packing in bulk, the plastic tray should be filled up to a maximum of 8cm. The most demanding markets are plastic boxes with or without perforations on their lids, which provide excellent conditions and maximize the life of the product; the capacity of these plastic boxes varies from 150 to 500 grams, with the most commercialized being 250 and 500 grams.

When working with small plastic packages, you must have adequate external boxes for storage, avoiding the movement of the individual packages and facilitating their transport, these boxes can be made of corrugated cardboard with or without the label on the plastic trays.

To facilitate the storage, handling, and transport of the plant, another available packaging is in the form of plastic bags which are placed in cardboard boxes of 30cm x 30cm x 60cm, with a capacity to store between 1000 and 1500 fruits, depending on the thickness of the strawberry’s crown. These boxes must have indentations.

Optimal temperatures should be 0 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 90-95%.

• Climate: The strawberry plants are strongly affected by environmental parameters like temperature, photoperiod, and light intensity. It requires an optimum day temperature of 22°C to 25°C and night temperature of 7°C to 13°C. In a cold climate, frost and winter injury seriously reduce the yield of strawberries. Frost may damage the center of the open flowers, causing the characteristics of a black eye.

• Soil: Strawberry plant grows best in sandy loam soil; on very light soil, frequent irrigation is needed to establish runners. The heavier soil with sufficient soil moisture is better than lighter soil.

Source: Improved Package of Practices of Strawberry Cultivation

-Problems with strawberries are with mainly the decaying of the product or other minor issues such as irregularities in size/shape.

If shipping to Europe, tests must be done. At the beginning of the season, quarantine authorities in Egypt are contacted, in which the authorities take some samples and do inspection analysis -> certificate given which states that the company is in accordance to EU obligations + pesticide doesn’t exceed limits

-Tested farms are more expensive than untested ones -> untested farms usually only supply to the local market

-When an issue occurs regarding the quality, exporters are responsible for it. 

According to data from Tridge, the wholesale prices of strawberries in major exporting countries ranged between USD 1.2 to USD 27 per KG (last reported in September - November 2020). The price of strawberries in Peru tends to be lower than in other countries and the highest is in Russia, priced at USD 26.66/KG. However, the price might be different depending on which market regions and which varieties or the type of strawberries.