Pyramids for Agro Industries (PAI) aims to increase its exports in the next season by 50% through increasing export contracts and entering new markets. The Chairman of PAI, Hamdy Soliman, said that his company aims to increase its exports of citrus to 30,000 tonnes in the next season, up from 20,000 tonnes, targeting revenues of $15m rather $10m. The company exports its products mainly to China, Bangladesh and India. It also exports to the UAE, Kuwait, Russia, Greece, and Italy. Bangladesh accounted for about 35% of exports last season, compared to 15% in the season before, following a decline in exports to the Russian market. The company seeks to enter new markets in the coming seasons mainly England and Germany, while it also pays attention to Eastern European countries. Soliman said that the citrus exports witnessed a boom in the last season, especially after the decline of local production in Spain and Morocco. The Citrus exports increased by 15% reaching 1.5 million tonnes in last July, compared to 1.3 million tonnes in the season before. "The Chinese market will witness more Egyptian export contracts in the coming years, especially grapes, which has gained the confidence of Chinese consumers," Soliman said. He added that the African markets should receive more attention from Egyptian exporters in the coming period, especially that competing countries have not expanded there yet. He pointed out the African markets' main obstacle is the lack of required logistics, especially the direct shipping lines between all countries.
