The Egyptian table grape season is coming to an end, with exports to the Middle East and African countries closing the campaign. Despite challenges related to climate and logistics, the season has been satisfactory for almost all varieties and markets, according to Louay Elkout from the Egyptian Growing Organization.
Elkout said: "Egyptian grape cultivation and exports have been on the rise since 2024, a year that saw a significant increase in demand, especially from the EU. Despite all the challenges we faced this year, our export volumes for 2025 are slightly higher than last year's."
© Egygrowers
According to the grower, adverse climate and slow logistics disrupted the season, yet not to the extent of compromising it. He explains, "The weather conditions were very challenging and impacted the quality of certain crops, particularly seedless red grapes such as Flame. Although the yield per hectare has increased compared to last year, this increase has been accompanied by quality issues with the bunches, such as irregular berries and splits. These issues are mainly due to inadequate adaptation of fertilization and water management to climate change and heavy crops. The second challenge this season was logistics. Delays in schedules disrupted export programs to the EU, with some ships experiencing delays of up to 10 to 15 days. On the positive side, we believe these delays had a positive effect on the markets, as there was no dumping effect."
Strong demand has rewarded Egyptian growers for these difficulties, according to the grower. He elaborates: "Our main markets are the EU and the UK, with stable programs and steady growth each year. Elsewhere, we have increased our programs in South Africa compared to last year. However, demand from Asia was weaker than last year at the start of the campaign (May–June) and improved at the end (July–August). Demand has translated into good prices. Average prices for 2025 have remained stable, with no decline observed, especially at the end of the season. Growers and exporters who focus on quality, good packaging, and efficient logistics have achieved good returns. We achieved higher returns than last season for bicolor and early arrivals, and prices remained stable throughout the season. As the export season comes to an end, pending official figures, we expect export volumes to be similar to or slightly higher than last year's."
© Egygrowers
Elkout breaks down the industry's performance by variety: "Early white grapes, Prime and Early Sweet performed better than Seedless Flame. However, they couldn't withstand long transport times due to weather conditions, unlike last year. For growers who still grow Sugarone, production increased significantly compared to last year. It remains an important variety for meeting demand in Europe during the third week, until the Sweet Globe supply increases. We have seen an increase in demand for Starlight red grapes due to their quality and their long transport and storage life."
As for the Flame variety, Egypt had a difficult season due to quality issues, particularly split berries. The Fire Star variety, on the other hand, performed very well in Germany with no quality or storage issues. We had our first commercial experience with Timco for the EU and South Africa this season, and it was very promising in terms of quality and storage. By the end of the Egyptian season, Crimson remains the market leader, though growers push for an earlier harvest each year. Next year, we will harvest and commercially package the Sweet Celebration, Sweet Globe, Timco, Ivory, and Allison varieties," Elkout concludes.
For more information:
Louay Elkout
Egyptian Growing Organization
Tel: +20 100 110 0003
Email: [email protected]