Following more than a week of chaos, conditions in Egypt appear to be approaching some semblance of normality.
According to Hatem El Ezzawy, operations director for Egyptian exporter Pico Modern Agriculture, optimism is high throughout the country that the worst is now over.
'There's a lot of turmoil and instability,' he told Fruitnet.com, 'but we are back to work. Transportation is still difficult, but the curfew has been extended to 7pm. The situation is far better than it was last week. The banks are opening up slowly and we are now moving a lot of produce.'
Last week, he said, all products, including beans, strawberries and bananas, were affected.
'We were only able to export small volumes,' he revealed. 'When we wanted to send five trucks, we were only be able to manage one. We were shipping 15-20 per cent of what we normally would, with the remainder going to the local fresh and juice markets.'
By the end of last week, he said, low food supplies were provoking great anxiety among the population.
'Now, however, everything outside of Liberation Square is back to normal and logistics are improving,' he added. 'Politically, we hear that the opposing sides are finding some middle ground. Law and order has also improved. So we are confident that the situation is getting better.'
The Egyptian government has offered concessions to opposition groups in an attempt to end the pro-democracy protests, but many have said that these do not go far enough and continue to call for the immediate departure of president Hosni Mubarak.
The government estimates that the crisis has so far cost the country more than $3bn (€2.2bn).
