The exports of Magrabi Agriculture (MAFA) increased this year by 21% compared to last year. The company is seeking to increase its exports to several markets over the upcoming year, in order to avoid global changes in receiving goods in markets. Mahmoud El Shishiny, the commercial director at MAFA, said that the company exported this year about 80,000 tonnes of agricultural produce, most of them and citrus and grapes, to 55 countries. He added that the company has been exporting products for 15 years, some of which include pomegranate, oranges, grapes, Barhy dates, pepper, and lettuce. El Shishiny explained that the majority of the company's exports are directed to the European market, and the exportation rate varies each year. The largest percentage always goes to Europe. The company seeks to increase its exports in East Asia through studying each market separately, alongside with its needs and consumption culture. The company achieves a 21% increase in its export rates compared to the exports of last year, recording 55,000 tonnes of citrus export compared to 50,000 tonnes last year. The exports of grapes increased to 12,000 tonnes compared to 7,000 tonnes, in addition to Barhy dates. The company is adopting a plan to increase Barhy dates exports to Europe over the coming period, as it signed contracts with two marketing consultancy companies to study these markets and rely on non-traditional ways to market products. The company exports about 4,000 tonnes of Barhy dates annually, which is a percentage of no more than 15% of the company's production. The company is seeking to become the largest producer of Barhy dates in Egypt over the few upcoming years. El Shishiny said that the company is also seeking to increase its exports in most of the current markets, as well as enter new markets in cooperation with the Export Council of Agricultural Crops, as a means to avoid market changes, whether in terms of prices, or demand, especially, with the increase of production, which may allow the company to enter new markets and increase its export share. MAFA owns farms on an area of 9,635 feddans to produce citrus, dates, vegetables, and organic fruits. It also owns strawberry farms, whereby majority of their production is allocated for factories and frozen. The company also produces organic juices under the name "MAFA Organic" and most of that production is exported to the countries of North Africa and Europe, which can afford the high cost of organic cultivation. The company mainly relies on its production in exportation and sometimes resorts to dealing with other farms to meet the needs of exportation, on the condition that the company supervises the work of these farms through its foreign experts, in order to maintain the main requirements as the company is the one to bear any fines. El Shishiny added that the company also aims to increase its exports to the market of East Asia over the upcoming period, especially, in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China, in addition to Vietnam and Thailand, as two of the most important tourist countries that can accommodate Egyptian exports, as a result of the variety of nationalities there and the increase of the purchasing power in their markets. He explained that Philippines is one of the important countries before Egyptian products and receives large amounts of Egyptian exports even though there is no cooperation protocol with it. It relies on intermediates from China, which, in turn, exports Egyptian products. El Shishiny demanded signing a protocol with Philippines to export citrus and grapes.
