The season is now firmly in its handover week. Pomegranate is running on its later blocks, the first easy-peeler fruit is moving off the tree in limited volume, and the orange line is close enough to colour break that bookings for the first navel sailings are being confirmed. Here is the state of play from the Delta and Beheira packhouses as of 21 September 2026.
Citrus
Navel maturity testing continues on the earliest blocks. Juice content and the sugar to acid ratio are moving in the right direction, but internal colour is ahead of external colour, which is normal for the period and the reason degreening rooms are being commissioned now rather than in October. Growers with river-adjacent blocks are reporting a slightly earlier break than inland plantings.
Our working expectation remains first commercial navel picking in the second half of October, with volume from early November. Buyers asking for an October arrival in Northern Europe should understand what they are buying: early fruit, smaller counts, and a colour that will have come from an ethylene room rather than from the field. That is a legitimate product, but it should be specified, not assumed. The published detail on maturity is in our note on Brix, acid and the ratio that decides the picking date.
Early mandarin picking has started on limited Murcott and Baladi blocks for the domestic and near Gulf trade. Export volume in container quantities is not yet available and anyone quoting it this week is quoting fruit they do not have. Realistic first export mandarin loadings sit from mid October.
Freight positions for October out of Alexandria and Damietta are still comfortable. That will change once navel volume and the European vegetable programmes compete for the same reefer plugs, which historically happens in the first fortnight of November.
Pomegranate
Wonderful is past peak and running on later harvested blocks. Size is holding at the medium counts, with fewer of the large fruit that were available three weeks ago. Colour cover is good. Packhouses are tightening on husk marking because fruit picked at this stage of the season carries more field scarring, and the graded percentage has come down accordingly.
Buyers still looking for October arrival pomegranate should book this week. The window closes faster than the harvest calendar suggests, because the last pickings are absorbed by the processing trade.
Vegetables and winter lines
Onion from store continues to move on steady demand. Sweet potato is in its opening weeks. Green bean, snow pea and the brassica programmes are in the ground for November onward, and greenhouse pepper and cucumber programmes for the winter are being contracted now rather than quoted spot.
What to do this week
Commit navel volume for November and December rather than chasing October. Fix the variety split, the count spread and the degreening instruction in writing before the first container is booked. Our comparison of Navel and Valencia across the season sets out where each variety earns its place in a winter programme. For last week’s position, see the update of 18 September.
For current availability, counts and a quotation on the citrus window, message the Nile Prime desk on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.