A major project to both enhance the quality of Egyptian strawberries and reduce production costs is already showing promise as the season gets underway.
It is the result of substantial and ongoing investment by Total Berry (TB), which, linked with several major producers since the mid 90's, has established this source as a major winter component of its year round supply strategy.
This season it expects to import around 2,500 tonnes between December and March.
"We have added a new dimension to our strategy by developing the technical abilities of our suppliers, " explained Tim Morton, general manager of Redeva, responsible for the breeding programme.
"We are now looking at different varieties and measuring their sugar acid ratio to increase the classic strawberry flavour, rather than simply rely on the level of sweetness."
Dr Drew Reynolds, technical and business director of TB added: "The other benefit is to give our supermarket customers better flavoured fruit with less waste and a longer shelf life."
To achieve this the company Redeva has recruited Soil Moisture Sense Ltd, which specialises in assisting producers world wide to optimise water usage and reduce fertiliser input, both of which represent high cost in North Africa.
Enviroscans, as the system is known is already operational on two farms, and director Peter White of SMS believes that the early results are already looking very promising.
