Attractive price-to-quality equation helps Egypt become the world’s largest exporter of oranges by volume

Egypt has become the largest exporter of oranges by volume in the world, buoyed by an attractive price-to-quality equation, reports the Financial Times’ Heba Saleh. Egypt outpaced “rivals” Spain and South Africa last year in terms of volume — albeit not in terms of revenue — thanks to a currency that allows farmers to sell the produce at competitive prices, head of the Agricultural Export Council’s citrus committee Mohamed Abdel Hady. The jump in exports comes as more agricultural investors are growing the fruit on large plots of reclaimed desert land, where there is more space to accommodate bigger farms with the technology needed to keep up with international quality standards, including pesticide levels and grading. While Egyptian oranges are popular in Europe, industry leaders say Asia is their biggest export market due to its large population size.