Mehadrin expects strong growth in their volume of avocados over the next few years. Though they are the larger suppliers of avocados in Israel with 50% export, they don't expect their expansion to significantly affect the growth of the overall market.Click here for the photo report
Tzvi, CEO of Granot Avocado cooperation says that the growth they expect is facilitated by the new packing house they've recently opened and new plantations that will start to bear fruit. The packing house, which opened a year ago, boasts new machinery and the capacity to pack 30,000 lbs of avocados in one shift.
“This season, we packed 24,000 tons of avocados,” he says, “and next season we expect to pack 30,000 tons. In five to six years, we hope to pack over 40,000 tons of avocados per season.” The increase is based on a target of between 10 and 15 percent growth each year.
They, along with another large grower in Israel, make up about 80% of the market. But despite their large presence, Tzvi doesn't think their growth will have an outsized effect on the larger Israeli market. He says the Israeli market is expected to grow steadily at five percent per year.
Currently, most of their export avocados are shipped to Europe where consumers pay a premium for quality fruit.
“Our best quality goes to the European export market,” he says, “but when I say quality, I am only talking about the outside, because everything is the same on the inside. In Europe, people are willing to pay more for beautiful fruit; in Israel, consumers focus more on low prices.”
When moving the increased volume of avocados, their main competition comes from Spain, notes Tzvi. But ultimately, he believes their quality and stability will provide success in the export market.
“We are a big packing house with very good quality,” he says, “but what you can also trust with us is that we don't change from week to week - we are dependable.”
This recent joint venture between Mehadrin and Granot cooperation, placed the company as the largest Avocado supplier from Israel, and one of the largest in the world.
Mehadrin sees the Avocado as an up-growing and significant product in their company, and expects a long promising years to come.
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