Israeli citrus importers are celebrating an excellent season on grapefruit so far.
Dov Warmen, md of Mehadrin Tnuport (MTEX), said with the short supply of grapefruit from Florida MTEX has managed to double volumes to the UK this year.
He said the opportunity had also allowed Israeli producers to get established in the market. “Our customers in the UK, which have in the past preferred to take other fruit, have been able to see our high quality, and consumers have also been able to try our fruit. As a result, we’ve been given programmes for next season, especially on red grapefruit.”
He said MTEX had made shipping the fruit to the UK a priority, even to the extent of resisting higher prices on the Continent: “We want to build the market for the future,” said Warmen.
MTEX is also celebrating after being recently accredited with Tesco’s Nature’s Choice. Warmen said: “It’s an important development and it involved a lot of work.”
