Agrexco has forecast a 20 per cent increase in its fresh herb exports this year.
Bezalel Madmon, the company's international product manager, expects Israel's major fresh produce marketing organisation to ship 6,000 tonnes covering 30 different herb varieties, of which one third will be programmed for the UK.
Speaking at an internal conference in London for packers and category managers this week, he also revealed the development of a new totally integrated software programme called Tavlinit. The system already links 115 specialist growers to Agrexco's offices, giving a daily update on agreed spraying programmes, cultivation techniques, crop progress and harvesting dates.
Madmon believes that total transparency is the key to building customer confidence in Agrexco's service and products. The programme has already reached the point where UK account managers are also able to call up similar information at will.
“Our aim is to establish totally dedicated growers chosen by retailers who will also retain their flexibility to meet special requirements,” Madmon said.
In turn the programme is part of Agrexco's own integrated research projects carried out with both local and regional specialists in herb growing, as well as internationally recognised centres of excellence, such as the Volcani Institute.
With a 20-year history of herb production, the company is still investing £80,000-£100,000 annually.
On-going research programmes cover both internal and external quality improvements ranging from shelf life to visual appearance ñ such as size, weight and colour of bunches as well as new modified packaging
See next week's Fresh Produce Journal for more details of the conference.
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