Early this week, the first Israeli medjool dates of the new season arrived at BUD Holland by air freight. "We have now started with the 5 kg packagings, and at the end of September, we'll also receive the 500 gramme, 1 kg and 2 kg packagings. The premium dates will once again be packaged under the King Solomon brand, and the classic / delight dates under the Jordan River brand. The prospects regarding quality and volumes for the coming season are very good. For the export to Russia, we possess all the required documents, of course," says Richard van den Akker.
The objective for BUD Holland is to have exotics available year-round. That also applies to mangosteen and rambutan. "Thailand is the most important producer for BUD Holland, but the country isn't able to supply year-round. That's why we further fill in the year regarding mangosteen with produce from Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. In addition, with Colombia, on the other side of the world, having only a brief production, we have another possibility to supplement the season," says Edwin Janssen of BUD Holland. Rambutan is offered professionally in several countries in the world.
Volume-wise, both mangosteen and rambutan are a stable product for BUD Holland. "Rambutan in particular is something of a volume product. Sales mostly go through (hospitality) wholesale, and exporters. December is always a peak month for these exotics. We do see competition on the market increase, because for importers, it's becoming easier to import from Thailand, for instance."
"It takes 10 to 15 years for a mangosteen tree to bear fruit, making it an expensive, exclusive exotic. It isn't called the queen of fruits for nothing. It's a delicious fruit, with a fresh, sweet flavour, but limited shelf life. With the mangosteen, it can also happen that you have a glassy fruit on your plate, which is hardly visible on the outside," Edwin says.
"Traditionally, the rambutan faces competition from the lychee. When the new lychees enter the market, demand for rambutan generally decreases somewhat. With the consumer, rambutan, as easy peeler, is more widely accepted as a fresh, tasty snack," Edwin says. "Mangosteen remains a rather exclusive product. The current minimum prices are around 14 Euro for a box, which contains a little over twenty pieces of fruit with four to eight wedges each, and they're consumed rather quickly. Rambutan costs the same per box, but then you get about fifty pieces of fruit in a box."
For more information:
Edwin Janssen
Bud Holland Bv
Transportweg 67
2676 LM Maasdijk
Tel: +31(0)174-535318
e.janssen@bud.nl
www.bud.nl