Hegazy Fruit Production and Exports intends to increase its exports by 10% to reach 2,200 tonnes of fruit this year compared to 2,000 tonnes exported last year.
Board of Directors Chairman Khalid Hassan Hegazy said the volume of company production dropped last year due to unprecedented high temperatures that damaged a portion of company crops.
Company production dropped to 4,000 tonnes last year but is expected to rise to 5,000 tonnes during 2016.
Half of Hegazy’s fruit production is exported while the other is distributed in the local market. European countries, especially the UK, as well as Indonesia and Hong Kong, represent the most important foreign markets for the company’s products.
The company hopes to participate in the Fruit Logistica exhibition in Germany from 3 to 5 February to open new markets in the Far East. The company also hopes to intensify a presence in current markets and strengthen its relationship with existing customers.
Hegazy pointed out that the company hopes to increase its exports to Russia, especially following the recent crisis in Russian-Turkish relations, which has led Moscow to offset imports from Ankara through Egypt and other countries that export the same products.
He ruled out the possibility of penetrating the US and Chinese markets due to a low competitive advantage for Egyptian products after calculating the cost of transport and shipping and in light of low prices for competing goods on those markets. However the African market is more promising and Egypt is capable of obtaining a significant market share there in his opinion.
Hegazy pointed out that bureaucracy has caused delays in constructing a solar energy station to generate more than 0.5MW daily to fulfill the needs of the company farm through investments worth EGP 8m.
The goal of building a power station is to lower production costs in light of rising energy prices. The initiative will also encourage the state to ration energy use and he called on the government to simplify procedures for obtaining the licenses required to establish investment projects in various sectors.
