Arab Finance: I witnessed Lemon prices Recently, a noticeable increase in prices in the Egyptian market, where it exceeds The price of a kilo of lemon In the markets currently 120 pounds per kilo after it had reached about 180 pounds per kilo during the past days.
Experts and researchers in the agricultural economy attributed the high prices of lemon in Egypt for several reasons, the most important of which is the export of the crop without taking into account the needs of the local market, as well as other factors related to climate change and the high costs of agricultural production.
Reasons for the high prices of lemon
For his part, Hussein Abdel Rahman Abu Saddam, the captain of the Egyptian farmers, said in exclusive statements to Arab Finance that lemon is one of the citrus fruits that the Egyptians used to eat for various purposes, especially in the winter, with cold waves to strengthen the body's immunity while storing it in some months such as Ramadan to use it as a moisturizing juice with breakfast, as well as some storing it for pickles.
Abu Saddam added that Egypt is planting about 40 thousand acres of agricultural lands, pointing out that the high price of lemon is due to the weak productivity of the crop resulting from the lack of distinct varieties of it in Egypt, which requires research efforts to increase the productivity of the crop, and improve the production breeds by researchers at the Agricultural Research Center at the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as climate changes that affected the productivity of the crop.
Another important reason that Abu Saddam emphasizes the high price of lemon in Egypt, which is randomness in exporting the lemon crop without taking into account the local needs, as when the export is opened, export is opened in large quantities away from planning, and studying the needs of the Egyptian market, pointing out that some traders control the market as a result of the buying of senior traders most of the crop and exporting it abroad.
Abu Saddam called for the support of the farmers as guidance through the Agricultural Guidance Department at the Ministry of Agriculture with the development of agricultural varieties and encouraging them to cultivate them, pointing out that the lemon tree needs 3 years to start harvesting the first crop from it while the role of the crop takes 9 months, and there are some wrong methods that some farmers use such as thirsting the crop from water, and not irrigating for a month, which is a method that aims to accelerate the agricultural production process from the lemon crop, While it has bad effects on the age of the tree, as this method leads to the short life of lemon trees.
Climate changes led to the scarcity of the supply of lemon
For her part, Dr. Siham Marwan, a professor of agricultural economy at Ain Shams University, said that the most prominent factors of the high price of lemon in Egypt are due to the high costs of production elements of workers, fertilizers and other factors, as well as climate changes that affected the productivity of most agricultural crops in Egypt.
Marwan explained that climatic changes led to numerous losses to farmers, including the lack of productivity of the crop to half this year, and the past year, which led to the scarcity of the supply of lemon, and then the high price in the markets.
Marwan emphasized that the Egyptian acid lemon is characterized by a distinct flavor from the meal lemon currently spread in the markets, and the lowest price of it, which many Egyptians do not like, as well as that the Egyptian lemon has a request, whether in the European market or the Arab markets, which led to the export of large quantities of it abroad and its deficiency locally.
While Dr. Najwa Qutb, a professor of agricultural economy at the central laboratory of the agricultural climate of the Ministry of Agriculture, indicates that as a result of the high temperatures during the fall season, it affected the production of lemon trees, which led to the lack of supply, and thus the increase in the price with an increase in demand for the purchase of lemon.
Qutb revealed that the “pigmentation disease” currently spread in some Egyptian lemon trees has led to a lack of production, pointing out that the date of flowering of lemon trees is during the month of March and April to produce the basic crop for the month of August, which requires the decrease in prices gradually to produce a new season during the coming period.
Raising lemon trees after low prices
Qutb explained that some agricultural producers of the lemon crop have reduced lemon trees, and that there are a large number of farmers who refrained from planting lemon during the recent period due to the low prices last year, and the loss of farmers, which led to the lack of spaces planted from lemon this season, which affected the productivity, and the lack of displayed in the market, which led to high prices. The climatic changes have a role in high prices due to the high temperatures during the fall, which affected the production and flowering of lemon trees, and also led to the lack of supply.
Qutb stressed that one of the other reasons for the high price of lemon is the increase in the volume of exports abroad despite the lack of production as a result of the injury of trees last summer, and we will notice that the rise in prices will continue until next July until the basic crop is produced for the month of August.
According to an official report of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, “Arab Finance” obtained a copy of it, the acid lemon is considered one of the most important varieties of Egyptian export coffee, as it occupies the second export rank after oranges, and the amount of exports of acid lemon crop reached 55.4 thousand tons with a value of about 247.5 million dollars during the year 2022.
Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE and China are the most important importing countries of the Egyptian acid lemon crop at about 65.6% of the volume of Egyptian exports in 2023.
According to the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics, the value of Egypt's exports of acid lemon grew during the first 9 months of 2024 about 49.875 million dollars, compared to 36.109 million dollars, with a growth of 38.1%.
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