As Mr. Amer Elsherbiny, owner of the Greek importer & exporter Euro Fruits, mentions: “The currency flow restriction measures in Egypt have been loosened. Previously, Egyptian importers had to come to Greece to complete their transactions, which was impossible for a great many of them. Now, we can carry out the transaction process digitally through Egyptian banks, but the entire procedure takes about 2-3 weeks to be concluded and verified. So, sending apples to Egypt has become easier, but not fully convenient, since we need to send products daily, and these delays complicate our business.”
Mr. Elsherbiny notes that Egyptian demand is particularly high. “However, Egyptian importers can’t afford to pay high prices. There is a certain limit, especially when shipping a container from Greece to Egypt currently costs 5,000 euros. On the other hand, Greek supply is limited. There is a great imbalance between supply and demand. Only Kastoria and Pyrgos have a sufficient quantity of apples. Agia does not have much product and does not grow the type of apples Egyptians seek. Egyptians are not attracted by flavor but by the dark red color, and such an appearance can only be found only in Kastoria and Pyrgos.”
As for the remaining stocks, Mr. Elsherbiny stresses that “the great majority of them, about 80%, are fruits of small or medium caliber. Among them, there are plenty of apples ranging from 60 to 80 mm. These are the apples Egyptians search for.”
However, time is running out for Greek apple exports. “Almost all Greek apples will be gone very soon. There will only be three major Greek apple exporters who will still have enough products to conduct export business after January. The rest will continue shipping only to the domestic market,” Mr. Elsherbiny says. Euro Fruits is already close to leaving the apple business, and since Greece has a shortage of local potatoes, it is preparing to switch to importing potatoes from Egypt by the end of January.
For more information:
Amer Elsherbiny
Euro Fruits
Tel: +30 241 117 8984
Mob: +30 698 820 4025
Email: euro.fruits9@gmail.com
