The first pallets of grapes from Israel were shipped on Monday 9 May, roughly a week earlier than expected and some 10 days earlier than the start of the export season in a regular year. Unusually warm weather in April and a warm winter in general helped push the readiness of the grapes which normally begin export only around week 22.
Coming off of a very strong season last year, Israeli exporters are hoping that reaching the market early will allow them to receive good prices before fruit from Egypt, Italy, and Spain arrives. "Last season was something special because the market was extremely undersupplied when we arrived with our fruit," said Oron Ziv of BeFresh Europe. "We are not expecting such high prices this year since the Indian season is not finished yet. But, we hope that arriving early will allow us to enjoy 5 or 6 weeks of good prices."
BeFresh is responsible for the first shipment of grapes from Israel, coming from the Jordan Valley in the eastern part of the country; they are marketing mostly with Direct Source International in the Netherlands. In the early part of the season most of the exports are done by air, with ocean shipments arriving a few weeks later.
For more information contact:
Oron Ziv
BeFresh Europe
Tel: +972 3 968 2929