Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture, al-Sayed al-Quseir, has announced that Japanese markets are now open to Egyptian citrus.
According to Quseir, the Egyptian agricultural quarantine authority has been in negotiations since 2019 with the Japanese side regarding export of Egyptian citrus to Japan.
The Minister said that Japan’s markets would be open to various kinds of Egyptian citrus as soon as legislative and administrative procedures are completed by the Japanese side.
On the other hand, Ahmed al-Attar, head of the Egyptian Agricultural Quarantine Authority said that opening the Japanese market has been the biggest challenge for his team in recent years. He explained that Japanese requirements are extremely strict, he even described them as “carved in stone”, and negotiations with the Japanese regarding their standards were quite tricky, he added. Entering the Japanese market, Mr Attar said, is the best proof of the outstanding quality of Egyptian citrus.
Egyptian agricultural exports have this year exceeded 4.5 million tons despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that it entailed.
Watani International
3 November 2020