Cost efficiency gives Egypt an edge in Chinese orange market

As the only Egyptian fruit product permitted into China at the moment, the country’s orange venture in the Chinese market now faces fierce resistance from established local and South African players. At www.freshfruitportal.com, we speak with Mohamed Eldosouky, EGCT president for agricultural products – the only African representative with a stand at this year’s iFresh Shanghai Conference – on how his company and the Egyptian orange industry is dealing with this tough situation.

“As we all know, Egyptian oranges are known globally for their high quality, but even so, we still offer a reasonable price which is slightly higher than that of the local oranges. But our quality is way much better than our local competitors,” says Eldosouky.

To showcase the fruit, Eldosouky brought four varieties to Shanghai: Navel, Baladi, Sweet and Valencia oranges. The season spans from November-December through to February-March, which means the fruit goes head-to-head with local Chinese competitors.

Generally speaking, Egyptian oranges are larger than Chinese oranges in size as well.