Israel plans on exporting 10,000 tonnes of dates this year, according to details supplied by exporters Hadiklaim, Agrexco and Mehadrin. The largest exporter is the Hadiklaim Agricultural Co-operative, a growing and marketing organisation run by growers that also promotes the development of date production in Israel.
Shaul Golomb, acting chairman of Hadiklaim, said the co-op, which gets its supplies from 30 nominated growers, will export 6,500-7,000t this season. Its offer is mainly of the Medjool variety, which is in rising demand on the UK and other export markets. Planted date area in Israel covers1,000 hectares, with 120,000 fruit-bearing trees stretching from the Sea of Galilee in the north through Arava to Eilat. Golomb added that there are 80,000 new date trees which will come into bearing in two to five years’ time. Hadiklaim uses 10 packhouses, all approved by Israeli and European statutory inspection and certification food-safety authorities. He said that Hadiklaim packs at source and that in the UK, Tesco is its biggest customer, although it also supplies wholesalers in the UK and in other western European countries. Golomb calcultes that Hadiklaim’s sales revenues are expected to amount to €45 million this season.
Noah Levy, product manager at Agrexco, said that his company plans on exporting about 2,700 tonnes of dates, mainly Medjoul, to its traditional buyers who in turn supply the big chains, especially in the UK. He expects that sales returns will total €10 million, a 20 per cent increase over last year.
Mehadrin is a relative newcomer to date exports and this season expects to despatch 600t with plans to increase export volumes in the next three to five years.
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