Egypt has toppled South Africa as the main exporter of oranges to the European Union from non-EU countries, according to a new report by Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) on citrus imports to the EU.
According to the report, between September 2020 and July 2021, Egypt exported almost 310 000 tonnes of oranges to the EU – an increase of 21.7% compared to the same period during the 2019/2020 season.
In the same period, exports from SA, however, were nearly 16% less at just over 290 000 tons compared to the previous year.
Taking into account exports of other citrus fruit like lemons and grapefruit, SA remains the top exporter of citrus to the EU from non-EU countries.
During September 2020 to July 2021 SA exported 421 370 tonnes of citrus to the EU – 3.5% less than during the same period in the 2019/2020 season.
Egypt came in second at 325 256 tonnes of citrus over the 2020/2021 period – up just over 16% compared to the same period of the previous season.
Justin Chadwick, CEO of SA’s Citrus Growers Association, attributed the change in exports to two possible reasons – firstly, that the 2021 season is running a few weeks later than normal, so fruit that would ordinarily have been exported in July was only exported in August.
Secondly, fruit sizing was smaller, leading to fewer cartons being exported.
