“The mango situation is very severe,” said Oron Ziv of Befresh Europe. “In Israel, we have about 40 to 50 percent fewer mangos than we had last season. There are some plots that are completely empty.” Some growers point to a frost this winter that affected production, others believe a heat wave this spring is the reason for there being less fruit. Whatever the cause, there's less fruit available. But Ziv doesn't think the situation is all bad, since lower volumes bring some benefits.
“The export season started late and it started slow, but in the first week of arrivals of mangos in Europe, we hope there will be good demand and good prices,” said Ziv. “Prices are not dictated by Israeli exporters. It's mostly Brazilian exporters that affect prices, and Brazil is shipping less volume, so we hope to benefit from that.” It's still a while before popular Kent and Keitt varities are available, but Ziv believes that with less fruit for the export market, there will be less fruit on the domestic market and prices will be better because of that.
Pomegranate production under way
Pomegranates also became available this week. The early varieties, which are marketed as Early Reds, are the first on the market from Israel. Though they're not as big or as sweet as the Wonderful variety, they still enjoy decent demand because they are available before any other fruit is on the market.
“You get good demand and good prices when you come into an empty market,” explained Ziv. “By September, Spain and Turkey fill up Europe with fruit. But, right now, the last fruit from the Southern Hemisphere is almost finished, so we have a good market.”
For more information:
Oron Ziv
BeFresh Europe
Tel: +972 3 968 2929
Fax: +972 4 672 5001
oron@befreshcorp.com