Determinants of Competitiveness of Egyptian Grapes in the Most Important Foreign Markets

The aim of this research is to enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian grape exports and improve access to foreign markets by studying the factors that contribute to their competitiveness. Specifically, the research focuses on examining the competitive advantage of Egyptian grape exports in the global market and identifying the determinants of this advantage in key foreign markets.
To achieve this goal, various economic indicators were utilized, including market share and price ratio. Additionally, a statistical model was developed to assess the competitiveness of Egyptian grapes compared to their main competitors in the most significant export markets between 2005 and 2022.
The findings reveal that, during the study period from 2020 to 2022, 59.9% of Egyptian grape exports were concentrated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Russia. However, it was observed that the market shares of Egyptian grapes in the British and Dutch markets declined over time, despite Egypt's comparative price advantage over some competitors in these markets. Furthermore, the market shares of Egyptian grapes also decreased in the Russian market.
Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the competitive determinants of Egyptian grape exports and highlights the challenges faced in maintaining and expanding market share in key foreign markets, it was also shown from the competitiveness model that the competition between Egyptian grapes and grapes exported from other countries, which compete with Egypt in the British market, primarily concerns non-price aspects. However, Egypt has a competitive advantage in the efficiency of performing export operations, as well as in the production dates and quality of Egyptian grapes compared to some of its competitors in the Dutch market. The model also revealed that Egypt enjoys a price competitive advantage over some of its competitors in the Russian market.
Therefore, the research recommends increasing attention to bilateral agreements and price aspects in both the British and Dutch markets. This will contribute to increasing the penetration of Egyptian grapes into those markets. Additionally, there should be a focus on improving the efficiency of export operations, which will enhance the quality of the product and increase competitiveness in foreign markets.