Israeli supplier Carmel-Agrexco will export a new and exclusive pepper variety, Ever Green, on a semi-commercial basis by seafreight this season. The new variety is sweeter than existing green varieties on the market and has a long shelf life. As well as being suitable for seafreight, the pepper’s colour does not change with time, which is common with green peppers harvested before ripening.

Carmel-Agrexco’s pepper team started its tour abroad promoting the new pepper variety on the first week of November and end it at the beginning of May 2009.

Avi Bar, Agrexco product manager, said: “Carmel-Agrexco’s growers have planted a wide range of pepper varieties in order to have a pepper harvest all through the season, and match the pepper’s size to the different demands of the chains in the various markets.”

During the summer months, Agrexco initiated a marketing plan that resulted in signed contracts with many prominent customers, mainly the leading marketing chains in all West European markets - parallel to expanding its penetration into eastern European markets and keeping its position as the leading pepper exporter from Israel.

Carmel-Agrexco has initiated a ‘Green Vision’ for the company, which embodies its commitment to environmental issues. Within this larger project, ‘Carmel Green’, the company moves towards usage of green packaging materials, and moving from traditional packaging materials consisting of white bleached carton. The new packaging for peppers consists of brown carton, non-bleached, with minimal graphics, which eliminates excessive use of colours, harmful for the environment.