Egypt dethrones South Africa as EU’s leading orange supplier

Egypt has overtaken South Africa as the leading third-country orange supplier to the EU, according to Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA). From September 2020 to July 2021, Egypt sent 310,000 tons of oranges to the EU, 21.7% more than in the 2019/20 season, while shipments from South Africa totalled 290,000 tons (-15.9% Y-O-Y). In third place, Morocco shipped 37,000 tons over the same period, a fall of 62.4% from the previous year. In total, the EU imported 733,400 tons of oranges from outside the continent, 13.3% less than in the 2019/20 campaign.

However, in the overall citrus category, South Africa maintains its leading position, with a volume of 421,370 tons from September 2020 to June 2021 (-3.5% compared to the previous year), ahead of Egypt (325,000 tons, +16.1 %), Turkey (240,555 tons, -4.4%), and Morocco (139,265 tons, -24.4%).

Citrus imports from Argentina were down 92.3% Y-O-Y due to prohibitions imposed by the EU.