Rana Omar Diab of Abd Elwahab Sons with Piet Schotel, md of Fruit Consultancy Europe

Rana Omar Diab of Abd Elwahab Sons with Piet Schotel, md of Fruit Consultancy Europe

Abd Elwahab Sons has seen a switch in traditional citrus sizings this year, as the Egyptian season kicks off.

The firm began exporting this week and has seen Navel oranges develop into smaller fruit than previous years, while the Valencia variety is sizing up larger than usual.

General manager Rana Omar Diab said the sizings were a challenge: “Last year, sizings were really stable but changes have made it difficult to set programmes at the same price and our only option is to raise the price.

“We are not getting the returns we would like at the moment, but demand for lemons has been high so this should help and we will increase our production significantly this year, as well as renovating the packhouse.”