“The lemons are a good colour and clean, a big improvement on last year.”Egyptian citrus imports grew exponentially last year, however lemon volumes were not large because the Egyptian lemons were too green for the Australian market.
This year, BGP International, the Australian company responsible for the first imports, took a hands on approach to ensure Egyptian lemons would satisfy the Australian consumer’s requirements.
Allen and Sue Jenkin from Ironbark Citrus in Queensland, travelled to Egypt on behalf of BGP, to share their expertise on de-greening citrus with the Egyptian packers who work in partnership with BGP.
Photo: Graham Morgan & Prudence Barker in Perth Market
“As a result of the information sharing trip by Allen and Sue, and the enthusiastic response they received from our Egyptian partners, we can see a fabulous outcome with the first lemon arrivals”, said Neil Barker, Managing Director of BGP. “We are planning a strong increase in our lemon imports from Egypt based on these improvements”.
“In addition to our Australian program we are now shipping the better coloured and graded lemons to China and achieving great results” he added.
Australian consumers will enjoy Egyptian lemons through until the start of the local season in February.
For more information:
Neil Barker
BGP International
neilb@bgp.com.au