Egyptian Garlic Exports to Brazil Are Levelling up after Quality Issues from past Years

Fresh Garlic

Brazil

Egypt

Published Jul 5, 2022

The Free Trade Agreement between Egypt and MERCOSUR starting in September 2017 and phytosanitary measures in 2019 gave solid support to Egyptian garlic exports to Brazil. With a total export value of USD 2.9M in 2019, Egypt became the fifth-largest garlic supplier after Argentina, China, Spain, and Chile. The situation quickly changed, leading to an almost ten times drop in the value of exports to Brazil with just USD 241K in 2021. According to Tridge’s Engagement Manager – the drop in Brazilian imports of Egyptian garlic was due to poor quality and non-standardized calibration. In 2022, traders have sent the first shipments of garlic, making efforts to re-penetrate the Brazilian market, and garlic export quantities from Egypt are expected to increase next season.

Due to the Free Trade Agreement between Egypt and The Southern Common Market (known as MERCOSUR in its Spanish acronym and MERCOSUL in its Portuguese one), which entered into force in September 2017, trade between these countries has increased significantly. After the phytosanitary agreement between the two countries was set, in mid-2019, Egypt began to export garlic to Brazil. In 2019, Egypt was the fifth-largest garlic supplier to Brazil, with total exports equalling USD 2.9M. Egypt is the fifth-largest garlic producer in the world, and the export value in 2021 was USD 24.72M. However, Egyptian garlic exports to Brazil decreased a tenth in 2021 to USD 241K.

The main reason contributing to the decrease in Brazilian imports, according to Tridge’s Engagement Manager, was due to the quality of the garlic. The garlic condition included dirt residues (no leaves were cleaned), garlic head bulb was too long (4+cm in length), non-standardized calibers (40mm to 70+mm garlic were in the same box), and sprouting/rotting garlic.

The points above were the main reasons for the severe decline in export quantities of garlic from Egypt. In 2022, traders are set to recapture the market in Brazil. The garlic harvest runs from September to July, and traders are busy shipping garlic worldwide. According to Tridge’s Engagement Manager in Egypt, seven garlic containers were shipped in June. By cooperating with Tridge’s global staff, the quality enhancements were made, including assisting with loading, quality checking, and ensuring the problems from previous shipments were corrected. The re-establishment of the garlic trade is now at the phase of waiting to receive a shipment from Egypt.

Source: Tridge

The trade agreement makes it easier for Egyptian traders to trade with Brazil. Quality issues remain the main barrier to increasing exports, and traders are preparing for the next season expecting export volumes to increase.