The Belgian Tulpin Group has been in the strawberry business for 44 years now. As a result, it has built up enormous expertise and made a name for itself as a major importer of these and other temperature-sensitive goods. Egypt is one of the main farming countries supplying European markets. There, the first strawberries will be harvested on 15NOV25 and flown on board of freighter aircraft to Ostend and Frankfurt Hahn, on behalf of importer, Tulpin. The upcoming season is reason enough for an interview with group chief, Alain Tulpin, about his expectations and why he avoids Heathrow as destination airport.
CFG: Alain. You’ve just returned from a flight to Egypt, because the strawberry season is just around the corner. What are the harvest forecasts of local producers for the 2025/26 season?
AT: The forecasts are encouraging and a similar quantity to what was exported in 2024/25 can be expected. However, you always need to be cautious because the weather can negatively influence the quantities harvested. Also, after mid-January, it also depends on the situation in Morocco and Spain which, alongside Egypt, are also major exporters of strawberries to Europe. Last season they were late to the market, of which Egypt took advantage.
CFG: In 2024/25 your company, the Tulpin Group, imported 16,000 tons of strawberries by air; 95% of which came from Egypt and 5% from Jordan. What is your forecast for the coming season, and which role does Egyptair play in the supply of these perishables?
AT: As said, we expect to handle similar quantities in the months ahead, provided the weather does not affect the crop. Another point is the available transport capacity. Should U.S. President Trump impose extra fees on China, as originally announced but temporarily withdrawn after talking to Xi Jinping in South Korea on 29OCT, it might benefit our business indirectly since more widebody freighters might be available for lease because stiffer fees will most likely scale down transpacific cargo traffic between China and the U.S. During the previous season, this was disastrous as China took all widebodies for e-commerce reasons.
Additional capacity provided by large freighters would supplement Egyptair’s scheduled cargo flights taking off from Cairo to Ostend in Belgium and Hahn in Germany. If the market offers large main deck capacity, we will operate charters to Ostend Airport.
CFG: Formerly, Egyptair Airbus A330 freighters used to land in Cologne/Bonn, but meanwhile they serve Frankfurt-Hahn and Ostend in Belgium. What’s behind this route swop?
AT: We quitCologne for two reasons: Firstly, because the quality of ground handling continuously deteriorated. This did not correspond with what perishable products need. Secondly, the local phytosanitary services at Cologne were available during weekdays only. This made product inspections at weekends by the authorities in charge completely impossible. So, we couldn’t obtain any clearance for the dispatch and onward transport of the strawberries.
CFG: Touching product quality: Do Hahn on the one hand and Ostend on the other, meet the packing and onforwarding requirements you expect?
AT: Both airports perform well. In Ostend, we cooperate with a local ground handler and some third-party service providers. Based on a concession, we established our own second line handling company in OCT24. It utilizes our own cold room of 4,200 ft², respectively 390 m².
CFG: Approximately 70% of the strawberries imported by the Tulpin Group are delivered to supermarkets in the UK. This brings up the question as to why Egyptair freighters land in Ostend and Hahn, and do not serve one of the UK airports directly?
AT: Flying from Cairo to the UK takes 45 minutes extra time in comparison to the two airports on the European mainland that we utilize. Also, there is hardly any cargo to Egypt on the way back from the UK, as Egyptair serves London daily with one widebody pax jetliner complemented by a narrowbody aircraft. Another important reason is that the ground handling of cargo at London Heathrow is a nightmare. In comparison, our Ostend and Hahn shipments reach London faster than strawberries that land at Heathrow, as we use the Eurotunnel for onforwarding them to the UK. These road feeder services are provided by our sister company, OSTENDFRESH. It runs a fleet of 45 refrigerated trailers with daily full truck services from mainland Europe to the UK, from 15NOV25 to 08MAR26, when the strawberry season in Egypt ends.
CFG: London announced that it will impose a 10% import fee on products from Egypt come January 2026. Would this affect the trade volumes in strawberries?
AT: Duties always affect sales, as both Spain and Morocco are exempt from these import fees. Consequently, the yields of the Egyptian growers will decline.
CFG: What percentage of your group’s turnover is accounted for by strawberries?
AT: Strawberries account for 60 % of our total turnover.
CFG: And finally: Do you personally still enjoy eating strawberries after having been in this business for many years?
AT: For sure, strawberries are a delicious fruit, sweet and low in calories, so a nice delicacy at any time of the year.
CFG: Alain, thank you very much for this interview.
