The Orri mandarin has performed rather well this season, says Planet Israel export manager, Betsalel Ohana: “We started the season in uncertainty, due to different directions of trends. Due to droughts and heatwaves around the world, we expected a lack of citrus fruits globally, while the economic challenges raised concerns about the ability and strength of the market to have the desired demand. We’re happy to say that until now, the Orri season was very good, unlike other fruits such as grapefruits and oranges.”
One of the advantages the Israeli company has had, was the fact they got more local currency for the US dollars and euros they received this year, Ohana explains. “The demand for Orri was strong and accordingly the prices were very good, especially at the beginning of the season. We got a ‘tailwind’ from a currency point of view. The strong USD and Euro, compared to a weak New Israeli Shekel, left us more local income for the foreign currencies. Until the end of February, the export quantities from Israel were about 36,000 tons, an increase of about 8% compared to the 2022 numbers. We still have good demand and we will export the Orri mandarin until the end of April.”
On the other hand, shipping towards Europe and the US cost them a lot more, Ohana says: “Our major markets are France, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States. Generally the wholesale prices in Europe were above 2.00 Euro kg and above 2.80 USD in North America. Selling to North America was challenging due to the very high shipping costs. We had to spend about 15,000 USD to Canada, by Sea to Halifax seaport and then by train from Halifax to Toronto. It cost us about 12,000 USD to ship to New York, USA.”
However, no matter how high the costs were, clients in North America were happy to pay it for the Orri Mandarins. Ohana states it proves the strength of the demand. “Export to the USA requires shipping with cooling treatment, which means higher regulations and higher shipping costs. Still, the markets and the customers were willing to pay these costs thanks to solid demands in these markets. In January and February, we sent Orri to Canada by air with much higher costs. That gave us an indication of the strong demand. Generally, the logistics were okay this season. At the high season we had difficulties finding a place in vessels to France. The shipping costs to Europe were about ten to twenty per cent higher than they were in previous seasons, about 3,000 Euro for 40" refrigerated containers.”
“As we entered new markets and we have established business relations with new buyers, we in Planet Israel and Saida Farms hope, believe and look forward to expanding our export quantities in the next season,” Ohana concludes.
For more information:
Betsalel Ohana
Planet Israel
Tel: +972 547383436
Email: israel@planetfareast.com
www.planetisrael.farm