Egyptian garlic production halved this season

Mohamed Shaaban, general manager of Garlico, said that the Egyptian garlic season has just begun, and the planting area and output have dropped significantly, but prices have increased steadily.

"At Garlico, we started harvesting on February 25th and shipped the first containers to Europe on March 1st," Shaaban explained.

The producer continues: "The area under cultivation in Egypt has been reduced by half, so the production has dropped by 50%. As usual, this season red garlic is more plentiful than white garlic and is larger in size and beautiful in appearance. Despite the decrease in production, in In terms of acreage, we have good productivity, very good harvest quality and larger sizes, up to 55/60/65 and 70mm".

Shaaban said prices were unstable at the start of the season but then gradually increased. "This is due to lower production and strong demand. It is difficult to guarantee good prices to buyers this year, but we will try our best to serve old customers. Buyers who place orders in advance will be able to load more containers." Nonetheless, Egypt Garlic will remain the most competitive on the market. If Spanish and Argentinian garlic sells for about $3 per kilogram, and Chinese garlic is more expensive, then our garlic costs about $2 per kilogram. "

So far, Egypt's garlic industry has not been affected by the Red Sea crisis, Shaaban said. "We are currently selling wet green garlic to Europe. If the Red Sea crisis persists late in the season we will have to deal with it, which will mean our shipping costs will double."

Shaaban added that Egyptian exporters have seen a drop in demand from Taiwan, one of their main markets, as well as from Brazil due to high prices. However, we are currently receiving steady demand from Europe, the United States and Arab countries. We can also rely on local demand in Egypt, where garlic is an essential commodity. "

"We have already prepared for this season, including planting 200 hectares and investing in new garlic calibration machines from China, which have greatly improved our quality," the producer concluded.