F Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Middle East
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F FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES MIDDLE EAST June 2015 FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES MIDDLE EAST JUNE 2015 FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLE MIDDLE EAST Contents 1. Market Dynamics ...................................................................................................................................1 1.1. United Arab Emirates ...................................................................................................................1 1.2. Oman ...........................................................................................................................................1 1.3. Qatar ............................................................................................................................................1 1.4. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .............................................................................................................2 1.5. Bahrain .........................................................................................................................................2 2. Media .....................................................................................................................................................2 2.1. United Arab Emirates ...................................................................................................................2 2.2. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .......................................................................................................... 18 2.3. Qatar ......................................................................................................................................... 22 2.4. Oman ........................................................................................................................................ 25 2.5. Bahrain ...................................................................................................................................... 27 3. Price Information ................................................................................................................................. 29 3.1. United Arab Emirates ................................................................................................................ 29 3.2. Oman ........................................................................................................................................ 31 3.3. Qatar ......................................................................................................................................... 33 3.4. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .......................................................................................................... 34 3.5. Bahrain ...................................................................................................................................... 36 4. News References ................................................................................................................................ 39 ii FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLE MIDDLE EAST 1. Market Dynamics 1.1. United Arab Emirates Fruit and vegetable sales are currently strong in UAE markets and prices are generally reasonable. Sellers report that during Ramadan customers are primarily concerned about quality over price and are shopping accordingly. Observers have noted that avocado and mangoes that appear to have been damaged due to the hot weather have been sold off at less than half price or discarded. There’s strong demand for mango, which is currently a big seller. Most are from India with a few from Thailand and Pakistan. Three Indian varieties available in the wholesale market are Alphosno, Badam and Rajapuri, although the first two are most popular. Prices are considered to be reasonable. Dried mango is not available in wholesale market but can be found at some Iranian sweet shops both wholesale and retail and there is good demand for it. Fresh green chilies are mainly from India, Jordan, with a few from UAE. It is early for chillies, which will be in season in two months and there is limited supply. Dried chilies are available in wholesale market and prices are high. Avocado is coming from the USA, Spain and Kenya. There are greatest volumes of Kenyan avocado, which is also the cheapest and attracts strong demand. Relatively few come from the USA and Spain and they are expensive. Other current strong sellers are lemons, fresh leaves, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, carrots, lettuce, oranges, grapefruit and watermelon. Strawberry, pineapple, banana, garlic, cucumber, zucchini, bitter melon, pumpkin, beans, drumstick, awla and pomelo are also in season. 1.2. Oman Trade in the Oman market is strong with Ramadan boosting sales but also increasing prices. However, customers seem happy to pay what is required and stock levels are high. Most vegetables are now out of season. Dried chillies and dried mango are not available in the market. Fruits, including grapefruits watermelon, orange, dates, mango and lemons, and vegetables such as carrot, cucumber and lettuce are strong sellers. There is plentiful supply of mangoes and oranges however; chillies are now in very short supply and coming only from India. Avocado is only from Kenya and is popular with Arab buyers. Strawberry, pineapple, banana, lemon, garlic, cucumber, bitter melon, pumpkin, beans, drumstick, awla are also in season. 1.3. Qatar The Qatar market sales situation is particularly good, due in a large part to the extra demand created by Ramadan. Chillies are in short supply as they’re not currently in season. Those available are from India and Jordan and prices are reasonable. However, the mango season is now underway with strong supply from India and Pakistan and high customer demand. FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLE MIDDLE EAST Avocado also has very good supply and strong demand. Avocado is imported from Kenya and America, although the Kenyan avocado is noticeably cheaper. Dried Mango and dried chilies are not available in this market. Cantaloupe, orange, pineapple, tomato, banana, apple, cucumber, lettuce, carrot, potato, are other best sellers. 1.4. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia market have risen as Ramadan begins and are expected to continue to increase until the end of Ramadan on July 18 Mango is only available from India and Pakistan and is very expensive. Only local fresh chillies are available and its price continues to rise. Red chillies remain more expensive than the green ones. Meanwhile, avocado from Kenya has maintained a price similar to last month although relatively few are available in the market. While vegetables in general are expensive, tomatoes are particularly costly although there is supply from Jordon, Egypt and KSA. There is still no fruit or vegetables from Syria and little produce from Spain. Lemons are only from Egypt and Turkey and oranges are costly and in short supply, coming only from Egypt. Sweet peppers are available only from Jordan with none of the previous supply from Egypt. 1.5. Bahrain Prices of fruit and vegetables in the Bahrain market are increasing due to consumers bulk buying or Ramadan, which began on June 18 and lasts for a month. Price increases began a few days before Ramadan and usually peak in the first week, although are likely to remain high throughout the rest of the month. Chillies are being supplied from India, Jordan, KSA and Thailand, while currently only Alphonso mangoes from India are available in the market and avocado is only from the USA. The price of banana rises as well during this month. There are fewer varieties of oranges available as the heat soars and those available are from South Africa and are expensive. Watermelons have not been affected by price increases, as the supply from Jordan is more than adequate. While prices have increased, it seems importers and sellers are prepared for the added demand of Ramadan and to date there is no shortage of supply. 2. Media (*Where articles reference the Middle East in general or more than one ME country reported on, results are posted under UAE) 2.1. United Arab Emirates * Multiple reports of inclement weather significantly damaging mango crops in India and Pakistan and impacting on supply and prices * Nevertheless, UAE retailers and consumers enthusiastically welcome mango season with festivals promoting a record number of varieties of the fruit 2 FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLE MIDDLE EAST * A Pakistani government ban on the use of wood packaging including crates, boxes and cases for storing fruits and vegetables from May 20 could further affect supply to the UAE and GCC. * Food security remains an ongoing discussion with UAE meeting with numerous other countries to discuss trade ties and agricultural opportunities * Ramadan sparks debate over pricing and excessive consumption. Inclement weather in Uttar Pradesh has destroyed the mango crop to such an extent that the overall mango output is expected to fall by almost 50 per cent. UAE alone accounted for over 60 per cent of India’s total mango exports followed by UK (16 per cent), Saudi Arabia (four per cent), Kuwait (three per cent) and Qatar (two per cent). According to a study conducted by Assocham, mango production will be almost half of the 43 lakh tonne mangoes that are annually produced in the state. Chausa, dashehari, fazli, gulab khas, langra, mallika and amrapali are the well known varieties of mangoes produced in Uttar Pradesh. Mr D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of Assocham, said “prices are likely to swell by as much as 50 per cent and might even go up to 65 per cent in some pockets”.