It is the middle of the season for sharonfruit specialist Mor International, with supplies kicking off last October and due to wind up at the end of March.
“This has been a very bad season in terms of supply - we lost a lot of crop due to excessive heat during flowering in May, which cut volumes by around 50 per cent from last year,” managing director Meir Ben-Artzy told freshinfo. “There is not really enough product to meet demand this year - we have tried very hard to keep our UK customers happy, but we had some problems with smaller sizes for pre-packs at the start of the season. This is now evening out. Fruit quality is more or less the same as last year - it is just the volumes that have been affected.”
The company only grows the Israeli variety Triumph, but operates a project with South African growers to ensure year-round supply. “Our customers are very loyal to us because of our quality and the range of fruit sizes we can offer,” said Ben-Artzy. “Most of our UK-destined produce goes to the supermarkets.”
The UK accounts for seven to 10 per cent of Mor’s business, but Ben-Artzy believes there is room for growth. “Consumption of sharonfruit in Europe is going up, and it is definitely moving from a niche to a more mainstream exotic product,” he said.
Organic sharonfruit is very difficult to grow because of certain pests, said Ben-Artzy, but the firm is trialling organic production. “Our fruit is generally very clean anyway, because we only spray as a preventive method,” he added.
