(Ecofin Agency) - After guavas, it is the turn of Egypt’s strawberries to be banned from access to the Saudi market, due to the non-conformity of the fruits to pesticide maximum residue levels (MRL). The ban will come into effect on Jan 18, 2018.

The information was disclosed by the General Organization Committee for Import and Export Control (GOEIC), an agency of the Egyptian Minister of trade.

It is the second ban of this sort for the strawberry sector within less than a year.

Egypt's horticultural industry needs to diversify markets and meet the increasingly stringent food safety requirements of its traditional markets.

Strawberry sector accounts for 5 to 10% of Egyptian agricultural exports. The land of the Pharaohs is in the top 10 world producers of the fruit.

Espoir Olodo