Carmel pomegranates

Israeli exporter Agrexco has announced that it expects to export some 6,500 tonnes of its premium Carmel-branded pomegranates this export season, which begins in mid-August and comes to an end the following March.

The increase is in part due to the encouragement that has been given to growers over the last couple of years to plant more and more top class pomegranate varieties.

“Christmas is expected to mark a peak in demand,” says product manager Bezalel Madmon, “and we are continuing the tradition we started last year, offering an individual huge pomegranate, packed in an attractive, stylised pomegranate ‘purse’.”

Mr Madmon says that Agrexco has increased exports of peeled and separated pomegranate arils, which he describes as “a perfect health snack, an excellent addition to any fruit or vegetable salad and an interesting garnish for desserts and ice cream dishes”.

The first shipments from Mitzpe Shalem, near the Dead Sea, reached Europe in the second half of July. Agrexco’s pomegranates are mostly exported to Europe, including Italy, France, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Russia, but also to Far East and South Africa.