We quote most enquiries the same day. The ones that take three days are not harder to price, they are simply missing information, and each missing field costs a round of email across time zones. This note sets out exactly what an Egyptian exporter needs in order to give you a firm number, and why each line matters on the pricing side rather than just as paperwork.
Product and variety, not just the category
Oranges is not a product. Valencia is a product. Navel and Valencia have different season windows, different sizing profiles and different prices in the same week, and mandarin varieties differ further again. The same applies to onions, where red, golden and white move at different levels, and to mango, where Keitt in August is a different proposition to Kent in July. Name the variety, or tell us the end use and let us propose one.
Grade
State Class I or Class II, or describe your channel and we will map it. Class I carries tighter tolerances on shape, colour and blemish and prices accordingly. Class II is entirely sound fruit with wider cosmetic tolerance and is often the correct choice for processing, juicing or a value retail line. Buyers who ask for Class I out of habit and then push on price are asking for two things that do not go together.
Size or count
Size drives price more than most buyers expect, because the crop gives what it gives and a narrow size demand competes against every other buyer wanting the same band. Give a size range rather than a single number where your channel allows. For citrus, state the count per carton or the calibre range. For onions, the diameter band in millimetres. For mango, the count per 4 kg carton.
Packing format
Carton weight, liner, sleeve or net, and whether you need your own label. A 15 kg wholesale carton and a 4 kg retail carton of the same fruit are different cost structures, and private label adds a lead time for artwork approval and carton production. Our note on own-brand cartons on Egyptian produce covers what that involves.
Quantity, in pallets or cartons
Tell us the quantity in the units the load is built from. Two pallets, ten pallets, half a container. Quantity in tonnes is fine but requires us to convert against a carton spec we may not have yet. If you are ordering across several products in one container, list each with its own quantity so we can check the set point compatibility before quoting rather than after.
Incoterm and destination port
FOB Alexandria and CFR Rotterdam are different numbers, and CFR to a port we have not been asked about needs a freight rate check. Name the Incoterm under Incoterms 2020 and the exact destination port or place. Buyers who ask only for a price per carton receive a price that they cannot compare against anything.
Delivery window
Give the week you need the goods to arrive, or the week you want them to sail. This is not a formality. Availability and price move week to week within a season, and a quote for late September is a different quote to one for next Tuesday.
Certification and documentation requirements
State up front if you need GLOBALG.A.P, BRCGS, organic certification, halal documentation, a specific residue standard, or third party pre-shipment inspection. Each of these can affect which packhouse and which farm block the order is sourced from, and finding out after the price is agreed usually means repricing.
A template you can copy
Product and variety. Grade. Size or count. Packing format and label. Quantity in pallets or cartons. Incoterm 2020 and destination port. Delivery or sailing week. Certification and inspection requirements. Eight lines, one message, and in most cases a firm quotation the same working day.
When the quotation comes back, our guide to reading an Egyptian produce quotation explains what each line on it should tell you before you confirm.
Send your enquiry to the Peivana desk on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918. We are GLOBALG.A.P and BRC certified, we handle mixed containers and part-loads, and we quote the same day when the eight lines above are in the message.