A price difference between different varieties of Egyptian pomegranates is growing as consumer awareness is more prominent these days, says CEO Mariya Dermendzhieva of Bulgarian fresh produce trader Triland: "Egyptian season 2025 seems like the 'War of the cultivars'. A few years ago, people were exporting Egyptian pomegranate Baladi as if it were the Wonderful pomegranate. However, consumer awareness of the different varieties and the requirement to prove what exactly is exported has changed this mindset. As a result, this season the price gap between Baladi and Wonderful seems to be quite serious."
© Triland JSC
There's been a slight delay for the start of the season, but everything should get going in the first week of October, Dermendzhieva explains. "Aside from the differences between varieties, the colour is late, and this leads to a delay in packing as well as export, which will be in full swing from the first week of October. As we do every season, we secure our programs for South East Asia and Eastern and Central Europe in advance, so that we can ensure supply until the middle of January. The volumes this season seem normal, sizes are medium to small, peaking around 400gr a piece. The quality varies greatly depending on the farm and the area, which is not a big issue for the freshly exported fruits in October. However, for the stored fruit, we select only high-quality pomegranates that will have a longer shelf life."
Despite higher prices for Egyptian pomegranates, Dermendzhieva feels that the product is still cheaper than competitors in the region: "Demand in South East Asia is stable, but the markets are not easily willing to accept the fact that the Egyptian pomegranate is no longer super cheap. With better quality comes a higher price. But even with that in mind, compared to Spain and Turkey, the Egyptian produce is cheaper, which does allow us to target a lot of the European markets as well. Overall, Egyptian pomegranates get a more stable position on the global fruit map."
© Triland JSC
"We believe that prices shall stabilize within the next two weeks. The picture will be clearer regarding the quality as well. But the deals closed now, based on programmes, are the ones that will secure good sales in the coming months, as every purchase is ad hoc means a much higher price than the programmed one," Dermendzhieva concludes.
For more information:
Mariya Dermendzhieva
Triland JSC
Tel: +359 89 850 2797
Email: [email protected]