Egyptian table grape production is expected to reach 1.4 million metric tons (MT), a 22 percent increase year on year with exports forecasted at 170,000MT, up eight percent year on year.

Weather conditions are expected to be favorable, growers continue to adopt new technologies and growing demand is driving up production.

Egypt is gaining market access for its table grapes to India, Myanmar, Nepal, Brazil and Serbia. The country already has access to markets, including the United States, the EU, Canada, Russia and China.

In addition, technical discussions are underway for market access to the Philippines, Vietnam, Ecuador, Thailand, New Zealand, and Argentina.

This year comes after a difficult table grape season due to and unexpected heat wave along with strong winds resulting in a 17 percent drop in the forecasted production. High demand has helped to stabilize prices.

Harvesting season in Egypt for early grape varieties begins in late May and ends in September. Late variety harvests begin in late June and ends by November.

The Thompson and Flame seedless varieties dominates production as it remains popular in the EU market, the major importer of Egyptian grapes.

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has taken steps to strengthen its export system, including adopting of the application of a coding system which sets procedures to coordinate logistics with farms – uploading farm locations via GPS and registering all farms and pack houses that are deemed to export.

Throughout the season, the Egyptian Central Administration for Plant Quarantine (CAPQ) monitors the production, takes samples and ensures that export requirements are verified, including pesticides residues.

CAPQ along with the Agriculture Export Council (AEC) work together to comply with the phytosanitary regulations of trading partners.

The AEC and CAPQ also worked together to develop a list of registered lands and pack houses where these producers and facilities are only eligible to export after complying with an array of requirements.

This system enhances the quality of the production targeted for exports and strengthens the compliance with phytosanitary requirements of the importing countries.