Kumquats in shakers well-received

In comparison to last year, the kumquat season advanced well from Spain and South Africa this year. "The first air shipment of kumquats arrived five weeks ago from South Africa, and the first boat will arrive next week, "says Melvin van der Zeyden, product manager at Yex. The importer has kumquats available practically year-round, from South Africa, Israel and Spain. "South Africa entered the market early this year and has a good volume available. With the arrival of the first boat next week, we will also have larger volumes available. Currently, the price of flown kumquats is still around 10 Euro, but because of the larger supply, that will go down by a few Euro next week."

The kumquat, also called the dwarf orange, is approximately four centimetres large. Both the rind and the flesh are edible, and both have a bitter taste. The rind is a little sweeter, while the flesh is sweet-sour. Kumquats originally come from China (Chinese name: Golden Orange). The fruit was introduced to Europe in the 19th century. "The kumquat is a real impulse product. Consumers are not likely to go to the shops especially for kumquats, but we now sell them in shakers and are getting a good response. They also sell well in our pilot shop at the Markthal," says Melvin.

"Kumquats are a very special product, with an intense flavour. They're an acquired taste, but they're a very suitable snack. Currently, the hospitality industry doesn't work with them very often, but a creative chef can do nice things with them. They have few calories and are very delicious in salads. Our company is growing and kumquats are growing along well with it. They haven't taken off like avocados have, but Dutch exporters know what to do with them, and kumquats are also very much in demand in Scandinavian countries," concludes Melvin.

For more information:
Melvin van der Zeyden
Yex
Tel: 0174 214 537
Mob: 06 10 41 73 30
m.vanderzeyden@yex.nl
www.yex.nl