Fine beans and snow peas are among the few Egyptian lines where a mid-size buyer has a genuine advantage over a container importer. The products are high value per kilo, they have a short shelf life, and demand in most European and Gulf markets is steady rather than seasonal. Taking two or three pallets a week beats taking a full reefer once a month and watching the tail of it deteriorate.
The products and their grades
Extra fine beans run under 6 mm in diameter and command the highest price. Fine beans sit between 6 and 9 mm. Bobby or medium beans run above 9 mm and go mostly to catering and processing. Straightness matters on the fine grades, because retail packs are presented in aligned rows and a curved bean will not lie flat.
Snow peas, sold as mangetout, are flat pods harvested before the seed swells, with the pod length usually specified between 75 and 100 mm. Sugar snaps are the rounded type, eaten whole, and travel slightly better than snow peas because the pod wall is thicker. Both are hand-picked and both bruise if the picking crate is overfilled.
The window
Egyptian volume on all four products runs roughly from the second half of November through April, with the strongest and most consistent supply in January and February. Early November and late April are transition periods where quality is workable but volume is thin and prices are unsettled. If you want a programme rather than spot lots, place the forecast in October.
The window matters for planning the rest of the pallet. In the same months you can pair beans with strawberries, artichoke, herbs and citrus, all of which are covered in the part-load booking calendar.
Pack formats
Retail: 150 g, 200 g or 250 g punnets or flow-wrapped trays, packed 10 to 20 units per outer. Some buyers take a top-sealed punnet with a modified atmosphere film, which adds two to three days of usable life and a corresponding cost.
Bulk: 2.5 kg, 4 kg or 5 kg cartons with a perforated liner. This is the standard format for wholesale and for buyers who repack at their own facility. The liner is not optional on beans, because moisture loss on a thin-skinned pod is fast and shows as wrinkling within days.
A half Euro pallet of 4 kg bean cartons typically carries 60 to 80 cartons depending on stack height, which is 240 to 320 kg. A full Euro pallet runs roughly double. That is the practical unit of ordering.
Temperature and compatibility
Beans and peas want a set point around 5 to 7 degrees Celsius with high humidity. They are chilling sensitive below about 4 degrees and will develop pitting and russet spotting that appears on arrival rather than at loading. This puts them in a different temperature band from citrus, pomegranate and most root crops, so check the compatibility rules in our note on mixing products in one Egyptian reefer before building the load.
They are also sensitive to ethylene, which yellows the pods. Do not co-load with ripening fruit.
Shelf life and routing
Realistically a bean part-load gives you eight to twelve days of usable selling life from the packhouse door on sea freight, and a sailing of seven days or more leaves very little of that. For most Northern European and UK destinations the sensible options are a short Mediterranean sea route or air freight on the fine grades where the margin carries it. Gulf destinations are comfortable on sea at four to six days transit.
Peivana supplies fine beans, bobby beans, snow peas and sugar snaps in part-loads alongside other Egyptian lines, GLOBALG.A.P and BRC certified, with same-day quotations. Send your required grade, pack and destination on WhatsApp to +20 10 9911 1918.