Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
At the start of 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture drafted a test risk assessment for importing citrus into the United States through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. While Egypt has had access to the U.S. market, citrus importations were limited due to the detection of a dangerous fruit fly.
Now, the world’s largest exporter of citrus fruits has petitioned APHIS for access to the U.S. market for oranges and tangerines, beginning a risk assessment process to evaluate potential threats from a phytosanitary standpoint.
According to James Cranney, president of the California Citrus Quality Council, the readmittance of Egypt into the U.S. citrus market would have drastic economic repercussions.
“This is a very threatening proposal from a citrus standpoint because the Egyptian industry is very large,” Cranney said. “It’s about twice the size of the California citrus industry, and they have a reputation for shipping fruit all around the world to export destinations at very low prices.”
He explained that Egypt is a low-cost producer as a result of lower labor rates and other inputs, whereas California citrus growers have higher input, labor, and water costs, rendering it improbable to compete economically.
The California Citrus Quality Council commented on APHIS’ risk assessment, noting that the state’s citrus industry faces more regulatory burdens than other global producers as well as higher transportation costs.
The Egyptian citrus market is one of the lowest-cost producers in the world. According to a USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service forecast in July, citrus production in Egypt is estimated to rise by 600,000 tons this year to tie a record of 3.6 million tons.
Egypt also directly competes with California citrus exports to China, offering an average price point of $9 per carton compared to $40 per carton from California.
“They’re going to be able to deliver fruit at very low prices — navel oranges and other types of oranges and tangerines — into the U.S. market at much lower prices than the California industry would be able to deliver,” Cranney said. “That will result in the loss of market share for citrus that’s produced in California. So, that’s the problem.”
Egypt remains persistent in re-entering the U.S. citrus market as it is limited in exporting to Russia, one of its largest markets, because of the Russia-Ukraine war. The war in Ukraine created logistical challenges for the Egyptian citrus industry as well as a loss of approximately $200 million from Russian and Ukrainian imports.
Mostafa Adel from Egyptian citrus company MMA Fresh Produce explained in a press release that exporting expansions is a top priority for the industry.
“We would love to export to the United States, for both our citrus and onions,” Adel said. “The U.S. market is huge, and once you have the rich quality that meets their standards, sales can be done with ease.”
APHIS will continue its risk assessment and evaluate comments received from U.S. citrus growers, but it is likely to implement a cold treatment and other mitigation to reach a phytosanitary solution that allows Egypt back into the market. The USDA has not announced a timeline for the risk assessment findings.
“We don’t know if it’s imminent or not…one of the problems, though, is that when they conduct this assessment, it just has to be a scientific assessment of the pest risk,” Cranney said. “APHIS is not allowed to take into consideration any economic considerations or economic impact that this decision might make.”
