A short operational note on what is loading, what is being tested and what is tightening this week.
Pomegranate at peak
Wonderful is now at its heaviest weekly volume of the season and the size curve has settled. The bulk of packed fruit is falling in the 350 to 550 gram range, with counts of 8 to 12 per 4.5 kg carton making up most of what we are shipping. Colour cover is good on the mid-block harvest, which has reduced the proportion of fruit diverted to the domestic market compared with the opening fortnight. Buyers looking for the larger counts should book two weeks ahead rather than against the spot position, because the top sizes are being allocated first. Our current specification detail sits in the guide to grading Egyptian pomegranate for export.
Peak volume is also the point at which the temptation to accept marginal colour cover appears. We are holding the release standard where it was in August. Fruit that would need to be re-graded at destination costs more than the week it saves.
First Navel maturity samples drawn
Sampling began this week on the early Navel blocks in Beheira and Nubaria. Readings so far show Brix in the mid to high 9s with acidity still above 1.3 percent, which puts the ratio below the release floor. That is normal for the first week of September and is not a cause for concern. On the current trajectory we expect the earliest blocks to clear the picking threshold in the second half of October, with commercial volume from early November.
Buyers being offered Egyptian Navel for October loading from any source should ask for the lot readings rather than a seasonal average. The background to those numbers is set out in our note on Brix, acid and the ratio that decides the picking date.
Onion and garlic
Cured stock is moving steadily out of store on GCC and Asian lanes with no material change in position from last week. Red onion in 25 kg mesh remains the volume line. Garlic in the 5.5 to 6.5 cm bands is available, with the largest calibres thinning as expected at this point in the storage cycle.
Freight and equipment
Reefer equipment availability out of Alexandria and Damietta is adequate this week but forward positions into October are visibly tightening as the citrus season approaches and northern hemisphere programmes come on. Rates on European lanes have firmed. We are advising programme customers to confirm October and November slots now rather than in three weeks. Pre-cooling capacity at the packhouse is committed to pomegranate through the end of the month, and the sequencing this requires is covered in our note on pulp temperature before the reefer doors close.
Loading this week
Wonderful pomegranate in 4.5 kg cartons, counts 8 to 14. Red and golden onion in 25 kg mesh. White garlic in 5 and 10 kg formats. Ports Alexandria, Damietta and Sokhna, Incoterms 2020 quoted FOB, CFR or CIF as required.
For current positions and prices against a defined specification, message the export desk on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.