Updates Egypt’s Orange Season - MY 2020/21

Published 2021년 5월 24일

For MY 2020/21, orange production in Egypt was projected to increase by 6.2% compared to the previous season. The increase in output also pushed the projected export estimates by 9.09% in MY 2020/21 and helped Egypt maintain its position as the largest exporter of oranges globally. Egypt’s orange exports have picked up steam since the start of the season as the demand across the world increased. While usual trends were seen in export volumes to China, Russia, and Middle Eastern countries. Brazil emerged as a significant destination for orange exports, and demand for Egyptian oranges in India and Bangladesh was persistent despite the raging prices.

According to the estimates, Egypt’s orange harvest area increased by 3.57% in MY 2020/21 as the number of fruit-bearing trees grew by 7% compared to the previous season. The orange production was also forecasted to be 6.2% more than the last season reaching 3.4 million metric tonnes. Egypt experienced favorable weather conditions during the main flowering period, which positively impacted the production of oranges and increased production levels. Egypt is famous for Valencia and Washington Navel Orange, which have the highest share in the production and export portfolio of the country. The orange season for these two varieties starts in December and lasts until March or April.

Source: Tridge

Egypt’s Orange Export Portfolio

Egypt became the world's largest exporter of oranges and surpassed its competing countries Spain and South Africa during the last season. In MY2020/21, total orange exports are expected to increase by 125,000 metric tons, 9.09% more than the previous season. The increase in production and demand for citrus fruits worldwide is expected to drive up orange exports of Egypt. Egypt’s main export destinations are Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, China, and U.A.E. It also exports oranges to Bangladesh, Ukraine, U.K, Malaysia, Oman, India and has recently started exporting to Brazil as well.

Source: ITC TradeMap.

Updates from 2020/21 Orange Season

China started importing oranges from Egypt at the beginning of March, followed by Russia and Middle Eastern countries. Demand from Europe also increased during this period as Spain’s orange season had ended, and the region was looking to fulfill its domestic demand.
Egypt exported its first shipments to Brazil with the support of the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo. According to Rene Barreto, Engagement Manager at Tridge, Egyptian orange debuted on the Brazilian market at the end of 2020. At the end of Q1 2021, Egypt had a share of about 33.3% in the total orange imports of Brazil, taking over the market share of Spain, which was the main orange supplying country to Brazil during the off-season. Rene Barreto highlights that one wholesaler from the state of Sao Paulo had already imported ten containers of orange in the month of April.
Ahmad Shalaby, Engagement Manager at Tridge, highlighted that demand for Egyptian oranges started raging in India & Bangladesh at the end of April despite the increasing prices. Several logistic issues were being reported at the time with limited vessels and increased shipping cost, which further added to importing.

Egypt’s orange exports picked up steam since the beginning of the season as the demand across the world increased. The orange season is competing countries started to end from mid-May and it is expected that the price will increase even more due to the supply shortage. According to Lena Hartanto, Engagement Manager at Tridge, due to Suez canal blockage, suppliers in Egypt could not export oranges for a few weeks. This resulted in the pilling up of the oranges in their warehouse. The additional piles of oranges are expected to last till May end and extend the orange export season of Egypt.