Egyptian citrus

The continuing violence in Syria is affecting the Middle Eastern country's ability to export its citrus, which in turn is leading to higher demand for fruit from Egypt, according to leading Egyptian citrus exporter El Gebaly Fruit Company.

'The current situation in Syria is leading to a shortage of Syrian citrus on the Middle East market,' said the company's general manager, Saied Elsayed. 'This is creating a higher demand for Egyptian citrus to make up for this shortage.'

El Gebaly aims to export in the region of 110,000 tonnes of citrus this year and recently announced the installation of a fifth packhouse for citrus.

According to Elsayed, the company has not been adversely affected by last year's revolution, despite the strikes at Egypt's ports, and recorded an increase in exports of 15 per cent in the year since.

Egypt currently stands as the largest producer of citrus in the Arab world, followed by Morocco and Syria.