The main change since Monday’s note is below ground rather than on the trees. Strawberry transplanting for the 2026/2027 crop is under way in the Ismailia and Nubaria growing areas, which sets the ceiling for both the fresh winter programme and the spring IQF freeze. Citrus and pomegranate positions have moved only slightly. Here is the state of play as of 23 September 2026.
Strawberry: fresh and frozen
Transplants set in late September and October give the first fresh fruit from late November, with the main fresh export window running December to March. Early fresh programmes are air freight for the Gulf and Europe, then reefer sea freight takes over as volume builds and prices settle.
The frozen side runs later. IQF strawberry is mostly processed from February to May, when field volume peaks and fresh export prices fall. Freezers are opening contract talks now because planted area is the one number that cannot be corrected after October. Industrial buyers who want a fixed volume of whole IQF or diced fruit for the 2027 freeze should agree grade, calibre, Brix floor and pack format this autumn rather than in February. Frozen okra and molokhia remain available from last season’s stock in the usual 400 g retail and 10 kg to 20 kg catering formats.
Citrus
Navel maturity testing continues, and the picture is unchanged from Monday: first commercial picking is still expected in the second half of October, volume from early November. Degreening rooms are being brought up to temperature at several packhouses in preparation. Early mandarin remains a domestic and near Gulf story in small lots. Lemon from the summer crop is available in limited volume for buyers who need a year-round supply line. Our note on degreening Egyptian citrus explains what an early-season ethylene room changes and what it does not.
Pomegranate
Wonderful is on its later blocks. Medium counts dominate, and packhouses are grading harder on husk marks. There is still room for October-arrival loads for buyers who confirm this week, but the processing trade is absorbing a growing share of the last pickings.
Vegetables
Stored onion keeps moving steadily. Sweet potato is in its opening weeks, with curing now the constraint on how fast fruit can leave the store. Green bean, snow pea and brassica plantings for November onward are in, and greenhouse pepper and cucumber programmes are being contracted rather than offered spot.
What to do this week
If you buy frozen strawberry, open the conversation about the 2027 freeze now. If you buy fresh, decide whether your December programme starts by air or by sea. For citrus, keep November and December as the core commitment and treat October as early fruit that must be specified in writing. Monday’s position is in the update of 21 September.
For current availability on citrus, pomegranate or a frozen strawberry contract, message the Nile Prime desk on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.