Sonac Societe Nationale du Commerce aims to increase its exports of citrus fruits and potatoes this year to reach 50,000 tonnes of citrus and 40,000 tonnes of potatoes. The managing director of the company, Mohamed Khalil, said that their exports of potatoes reached 25,000 tonnes last year, while citrus fruit exports registered 40,000 tonnes. He added that the depreciation of the value of the Egyptian pound will not raise the competitiveness of the Egyptian product or boost exports, as the prices of fertilisers and other production input requirements also increased after the flotation of the pound. Khalil explained that the Agriculture Export Council aims to boost exports slightly this season. He pointed out that navel oranges have been suffering from a shortage by 40% compared to the previous season, due to poor weather conditions. Khalil added that prices of contracts with farmers increased by 100% for the current season, as they refused to go lower than EGP 3,000 per tonne, up from EGP 1,500 per tonne last year. Moreover, he said that the hike in fuel prices caused shipping costs to increase by 50%, while packaging materials increased by 60%. In addition, Khalil noted that Russia's decision to exempt Egyptian orange exports from paying customs as of January increased the volume of Egyptian exports. Sonac Societe Nationale du Commerce was founded in 1979 to export and promote Egyptian agricultural products in different foreign markets.
