The Israeli lychee season has launched with promising forecasts of double last year’s production.
Exporter Agrexco has begun the 2009 season with a target of 400 tonnes of product to export, a huge leap from last season's 200t.
The Carmel-branded lychee season is exceptionally long this year and Agrexco plans to airfreight the fruit rather than use seafreight, so that it is ripe when it reaches the consumer.
The Mauritius variety represents the majority of product grown in Israel, with most of the growers concentrated in the area around Lake Galilee and western Galilee.
Agrexco has been conducting intensive research and development to improve its lasting red colour and texture.
The supplier will export until August and pass up the opportunity to continue into September as it focuses only on top-quality fruit.
Bezalel Madmon, product manager at Agrexco, said: "We think that the brand name, Carmel, has to be associated with premium agricultural produce. We will not take the risk of blemishing it in spite of the financial temptation.”
The lychees will mainly be sold in 2kg cartons, or in punnets containing 300g.
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