Md and founder of Arava Avi Kadan, left, with David Crossland

Md and founder of Arava Avi Kadan, left, with David Crossland

Israeli grower and exporter Arava continues to expand rapidly.

Its growers have increased the area devoted to peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs, and while raising the bar for its customers in the UK, US and continental Europe, Arava was at Fruit Logistica looking to extend its horizons further.

The pace of development has quickened as Arava’s network of producers widens. The company’s David Crossland told the Journal: “We have more growers this year and pepper acreage has increased again. Volume will move from 11,000 tonnes to 15,500t by year-end. “Growers are making decent returns and investing in tunnels, and we expect volume to increase again next year, to closer to 20,000t.”

Tomatoes are also on an upward curve, but the expansion is not quite so dramatic, he adds. “Our major market for tomatoes is the UK and we have invested heavily in our r&d programme to find the varieties that best suit the market. You can have what you feel is the best variety in the world, but that’s no use if the customers don’t want it. Sunstream is in its first commercial year and looks promising, and Flavorino is established, but it is all about moving the category forward with each passing year.”

New varieties, such as the sweet red pepper Palermo, have driven Arava’s growth, but in herbs, there are no new varieties in 2004. Again though, volume has risen. “We will export almost 2,000t from Israel this year,” said Crossland. From nothing four years ago, that is a hell of a growth. The UK was our main market initially, but as logic says they should, the US and Europe are catching up.”