Israel's hot winter has reportedly resulted in the early ripening of many fruits including passionfruit grown along the country's coastline from north-western Galilee to the Negev in the south.
Tidhar Jackson, product manager at export company Agrexco, said he was hopeful of a long export season for the fruit, with shipments likely to continue almost without interruption from July until winter.
Agrexco's Carmel-branded Passiflora variety is being marketed as offering 'green agriculture at its best'.
According to the company, no pesticides or chemicals are used to combat pests or diseases during the course of the growing period.
As a result, the group says that pesticide-free cultivation procedures adopted by all Agrexco growers have led to greener, healthier and tastier fruit which adheres to the most stringent European standards.
In addition, Agrexco's 'Green Vision' also focuses on environmentally friendly transportation with the Passiflora and almost all other fruits exported from Israel by Agrexco shipped in the group's own cargo vessels, Carmel Ecofresh and Carmel Bio-Top.
'These are the most advanced of their kind, assuring that the fruit reaches its destination in optimal conditions, as if it has been picked earlier that morning,' said a spokesperson.
The Passiflora fruit, nicknamed passionfruit, is round with a dark purple colour and faint white specks on its tough, smooth and waxy rind.
The cavity within is filled with an aromatic mass of double walled sacs, containing orange-coloured pulpy juice with hundreds of small dark seeds which are edible.
The fruit is also said to be rich in Vitamin A, potassium and fibre.
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