Israel’s winter wonders

With recent weather conditions having favoured many of Israel’s winter crops, producers are confident of having a strong campaign.

Oded Yacovson, general manager of Agrexco UK, says the crops are looking good and he anticipates strong demand across the main winter supplies. “Avocados are excellent, citrus at this stage looks promising and so does sharonfruit, of which there will be a bigger yield this year,” he says. At the same time, he forecasts a big season for strawberries, particularly around the Christmas period and salad, tomato and pepper volumes will be on a par with last year. Sweet potato volumes are expected to rise on last year, following challenges in early autumn as the country was short of smaller sizes.

One of Israel’s biggest earners is citrus, but the country is forecasting a

10 per cent downturn in production according to figures published by Freshfel Europe and the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE). The drop is mainly due to falls in orange production (-18 per cent ) and grapefruit (-10 per cent), although easy peeler output is set to rise by 10 per cent.

It is estimated that a further 11,000 soft citrus trees will be planted in Israel next year, representing a slight rise on this year, says the Israel Citrus Growers’ Association.

Plantings of Or are expected to rise sharply, though Ora, Michal and Morcot plantings are all expected to fall.

Pomelo sendings to the UK are expected to rise by 15 per cent, as hot weather has brought the fruit forward quicker than usual and both maturity and sugar levels are advanced on last season.

Marius du Plessis, MTEX UK general manager, says the citrus category has held its own during the challenging economic period and there is a strong focus on research and development. The firm has an ongoing partnership with Israeli research institutes to fine tune its varietal mix. There are three or four promising easy-peel lines undergoing “serious commercial trials” at the moment. “We’re hopeful that at least one or two of those will prove as successful as Or,” says du Plessis. “You have to see the future and predict what the market is going to want years down the line.

“We decide which varieties we feel are going to be commercially successful then plant large areas because we need the volume to establish them in the market,” he explains. “From that point, there are still three to four years to go before we have a clear idea of whether this variety will be successful on a small or a large scale.”

But innovation is not just on citrus and a number of lines are benefiting from a forward-thinking approach.

Agrexco’s acquisition of Fertiseeds has brought the company numerous benefits and Yacovson says that Fertiseeds’ focus is on developing new varieties at a “greater speed” than most seed companies.

“As with other products such as herbs and plums, we believe that our advantage over competitors is that we provide specialist products, albeit for more of a niche market,” Yacovson explains. “Products with a point of difference in flavour and quality - it is that which keeps us ahead.”

Strawberries are another key line and picking will begin in early November, but some anticipate a challenging time for exports to the UK because of a buoyant domestic market and the exchange rate.

“Very few strawberries were sold from Israel in the UK last year and other sources such as Egypt are increasing their volumes so there’s only a small window of opportunity over the Christmas period,” says David Crossland, managing director of Mill Associates.

Furthermore, he maintains that a strong local market means that some growers are choosing the domestic market over the export arena. “When supplying the domestic market, growers get quicker payments, there are fewer demands and they get paid a good price per kilo,” Crossland explains.

Avocados are expected to put in a strong performance this season, even though 2010 is an off-bearing year. A rise in the number of new plantations should mean volumes are on a par with last year. According to the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, around 80,000 tonnes of avocados are expected to be harvested, of which 55,000t are to be exported.

Growers anticipate revenue of 165m shekels (£29m) from the avocado harvest and revenues are expected to jump by 10 per cent, thanks to the rising value of the euro against the shekel and the improved quality of the harvest.

Edom Fruits increased its avocado and pomegranate exports in 2009-10 and with Israel’s substantial avocado crop this season, director Yinon Osem is forecasting a “good market”.

The producer began exporting Etinger in early October, as well as Pinkerton, which Osem says has enjoyed a good response in the UK over the last two seasons.

However, he anticipates challenges for pomegranates, arguing that pricing has become the main issue and opportunities for introducing newer varieties that usually cost more are being limited. The size of pomegranates is also a factor and while the UK traditionally prefers the smaller sizes, these aren’t as readily available this season.

Ami Sivan, Mehadrin Tnuport Export’s vice president of marketing, anticipates very good demand across the board over the next few months.

But one of the major hurdles comes in the shape of the strong Israeli shekel and weak sterling, coupled with retail pressure on pricing, which is hitting growers’ returns and the ability to compete with the European and Russian markets. This is affecting the way Israeli growers and exporters view the UK market.

“Some growers no longer see the UK as an attractive market and aren’t supplying it,” Crossland says. “Two years ago, we had an extremely attractive exchange rate but it’s gone from one extreme to the other very quickly so we’re hoping that it will turn around. We’re optimistic that we’ll see some recovery, but not for another season at least.”

The UK market is changing and producers need to plan strategically to meet new demands, where price is the main factor and quality requirements remain high.

AGREXCO TAKES A FRESH LOOK AT PACKAGING

Packaging is a key concern for Agrexco and the exporter has long established its own guidelines to reduce its packaging.

For the retail market, the Israeli firm has cut its use of packaging materials by 48 per cent over the last 10 years.

Agrexco UK general manager Oded Yacovson says the firm is entering a new era as it begins producing packaging items made out of sugar cane, potatoes and corn. “Our existing packaging suppliers have been as keen as we are to explore and develop this new source for packaging and already the UK is seeing some of these eco-friendly packs in the multiples for tomatoes and peppers,” he says. “But by using standardised environmental and recycled packaging, it has saved us 20 per cent of our packaging output and we are also continuing to work towards ensuing that our PET punnets consist of recyclable RPET and APET materials.”

Over the last 12 months, Agrexco has increased its use of returnable light pallets by 20 per cent. “Our aim over the next two years is to increase our returnable pallet usage to 40 per cent and after that time, we will continue to work to achieve even greater results,” Yacovson pledges.