Ten Reasons to Buy Egyptian Oranges

Egypt is the world’s largest orange exporter by volume, and the reason importers keep coming back to the origin is a combination that is hard to find elsewhere: two harvest windows inside one country, a fruit that travels, and documentation that clears. This page sets out ten specific reasons buyers source Egyptian oranges from PEI Trade, with the numbers you can check rather than adjectives.

Before the reasons, two things worth having in front of you: which variety runs when, and exactly what goes into a container. Both decide more about a programme than any claim about quality.

The Two Varieties and Their Windows

Variety	Season	Eating profile	Best use	Guide
Navel	December to April, peak January to March	Sweet, slightly tangy, seedless, easy to peel	Fresh retail and table fruit	Navel export guide
Valencia	March to August	High juice content, slightly tart, few seeds	Juicing, beverages, summer fresh supply	Valencia export guide

The two windows overlap in March and together give roughly nine months of Egyptian orange supply. Opening and closing weeks move with the weather, so the position for your shipping weeks is confirmed at the time of offer.

That overlap is the commercial point of the origin: a buyer who programmes both varieties runs an orange line from December into August from one supplier and one set of documents, instead of re-sourcing in spring.

Carton and Pallet Arithmetic You Can Check

Most suppliers give a container figure and leave you to trust it. Here is ours with the working shown, so every line multiplies out:

Step	Figure	How it is reached
Carton	15 kg net / 16 kg gross	40 x 30 cm telescopic corrugated, ventilated on four sides, count-layered. 1 kg tare.
Standard pallet	100 x 120 cm	10 cartons per layer: 1.20 m2 divided by the carton’s 0.12 m2.
Layers	8	Corner-boarded and strapped.
Cartons per standard pallet	80	10 x 8. Net 1,200 kg.
Euro pallet	80 x 120 cm	8 cartons per layer: 0.96 m2 divided by 0.12 m2.
Cartons per Euro pallet	64	8 x 8. Net 960 kg.
Pallets per 40 ft high-cube reefer	21	20 standard plus 1 Euro, which takes the remaining floor.
Cartons per container	1,664	(20 x 80) + (1 x 64).
Net fruit per container	24,960 kg	1,664 x 15.
Gross with cartons	26,624 kg	1,664 x 16.

Check any line. The gross figure is the fruit plus the cartons; pallet weight and the container’s own tare go on top of that for the VGM declaration, and those depend on the pallets and the box on the day, so we give them per shipment rather than publishing a number. Smaller retail carton formats are available and confirmed per programme.

The full packing and labelling standards, including pallet patterns for other markets, are in the packing standards guide.

Ten Reasons Importers Buy From PEI Trade

1. Certified farms with documented residue control

We source from certified conventional farms across Egypt operating to GLOBALG.A.P, with residues managed to the maximum residue limits of the destination market. Certificate details and residue reports go to buyers on request rather than being published here.

2. Hygienic handling from harvest to loading

Hand-picked, then washed and sanitised on the line
Packed into food-grade cartons
Held in temperature-controlled facilities before loading
Handled by staff trained on the line and in protective equipment

3. Documentation prepared for the destination, not generically

Phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin and the market’s own paperwork are prepared against the destination requirement before loading, which is where most clearance delays are actually created. Shipping dates are confirmed per booking rather than promised in advance.

4. Two harvest windows in one origin

Navel through the winter and Valencia from spring into late summer, from the same supplier. That is roughly nine months of supply without changing origin, paperwork or specification language mid-season.

5. Fruit that holds condition on a long leg

Egyptian oranges carry firm rind and good sugar-acid balance, which is why the origin ships as far as East Asia rather than only to nearby markets. Condition on arrival is a function of the cold chain as much as the fruit, and the set points we work to are in the cold chain guide.

6. One crop, two channels

Navel for the retail shelf where appearance drives the sale, Valencia for juicing where yield does. If your business needs both, they come off the same programme rather than two.

7. Full traceability to the orchard and harvest date

Every lot traces back to the orchard it came from and the day it was picked. That is what lets you answer a retailer’s question about one pallet weeks after arrival, instead of about a container.

8. Private label and market-specific packaging

Branded cartons, private label and labelling built to the destination market’s rules, so the pack arrives compliant rather than needing re-labelling at the port.

9. A direct line to the desk that handles your account

You deal with the people arranging your loading, not a ticket queue. Questions on counts, loading weeks and documentation are answered by the person who can change them.

10. Volume that scales with the programme

From part-load quantities up to repeat full containers. Loading frequency in any given week depends on the harvest and how much of the crop is committed, so it is agreed per programme rather than promised on a page.

Who These Oranges Suit

Buyer	Variety that usually fits	What to specify first
Supermarkets and retailers	Navel	Count range and pack format
Juice manufacturers	Valencia	Juice yield target and acid range
Wholesale distributors	Both, in sequence	Volume per month across the two windows
Hotels, restaurants and catering	Navel	Consistency between deliveries

A starting point, not a rule. Tell us the channel and we will quote the variety and grade that fits it rather than the most expensive one.

Additional Fresh Produce from Egypt

Alongside oranges we supply strawberries, guava, mango and other Egyptian fruit, on seasonal programmes and longer-term import contracts.

Complete Egyptian citrus export guide — all varieties, seasons, standards and cold chain.
Egyptian Navel orange export guide — specifications and sizing.
Egyptian Valencia orange guide — the juice and summer variety.
Packing and labelling standards — cartons, pallets and market compliance.
Cold chain requirements — set points, pre-cooling and monitoring.
Best orange export companies in Egypt — how to qualify a supplier.

Buying Egyptian Oranges: FAQ

When is the best time to import Egyptian Navel oranges?

Navel runs December to April with the peak from January to March, so winter is the import window. Valencia follows from March to August for juicing and summer fresh supply.

How many cartons fit in a container?

1,664 cartons of 15 kg in a 40 ft high-cube reefer on our standard stow, which is 24,960 kg net and 26,624 kg gross with the cartons. That is 20 standard pallets of 80 cartons plus one Euro pallet of 64.

Are your oranges certified?

We supply conventional fruit from farms operating to GLOBALG.A.P, with a phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin on every shipment. Certificate numbers, issuing bodies and validity dates are provided to buyers on request rather than published.

Can I request custom packaging or private labelling?

Yes. Branded cartons, private label and labelling built to the destination market’s rules, so the pack arrives compliant rather than needing re-labelling at the port.

What is the minimum order quantity?

We normally work in full container loads, and part-load quantities can be arranged depending on destination and the season position. Send the requirement and we will say what is possible for your weeks.

How do you keep oranges in condition during shipping?

Pre-cooling, temperature-controlled containers with the set point recorded for the lane, and cold chain monitoring from packing to delivery. Set points differ by market and by whether the fruit is going to a shelf or a juicing line, so they are confirmed per shipment.

Which variety should I order for juicing?

Valencia. It carries higher juice content and runs from March to August, which is also when northern-hemisphere juicing supply is thinnest. Navel is the fresh-retail variety.

Request an Orange Offer

Send the destination port, the volume, the variety and count, and the shipping weeks. We will quote against the current season position and say plainly what is and is not available for those weeks.

Specification form: send your requirement here
Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: message the citrus desk