Israeli mango production is tipped to rebound this season with exports due to increase by 20 per cent on last year’s 13,000-tonne total when a severe frost dented performance.
Demand is also holding strong, according to leading exporters, particularly in continental Europe where a solid shekel-euro exchange rate is already translating into positive returns to growers.
“It’s going to be a big season in terms of Israeli mango volume,” Oded Yacovson, general manager of Agrexco UK, told Fruitnet.com. “There will be approximately 16,000 tonnes in total for export which is a 20 per cent increase on 2008. The main reason is that the fruit size is smaller, plus quality is looking excellent.”
Gideon Sendovski of Niva Fruits Export agreed this season’s crop expectations are a significant improvement on last year when poor weather conditions marred many Israeli fresh produce export deals.
“This coming season, Israel is expecting a normal mango crop of more than 30,000 tonnes, which we believe will translate into exports of around 16,000 tonnes,” Mr Sendovski said. “So far, production has been developing well and we’ve not faced any real problems during the last few months on the mango orchards.”
Despite the recession which continues to grip many European economies, Israeli exporters claim on the whole they have not witnessed any change in demand this year, especially for mangoes.
“Demand is always good for Israeli mangoes and this year does not appear to be any different,” noted Mr Yacovson. “Israel’s season started in late July and we are happy to say that we have not seen any reduction in interest so far.”
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