The first Israeli satsumas ever brought into the UK by Mehadrin Tnuport Export (MTEX) will arrive in the market next week.
Some 15,000-20,000 cartons are destined for this market, with availability likely to run through to the end of November.
“The Spanish season will be a little late this year and of course the UK is traditionally the number one market for satsumas,” said Dov Warmen, MTEX’s md in the UK. “There is a big demand for the fruit and we expect to continue selling satsumas into the UK supermarkets in future seasons.”
The satsuma sendings strengthen MTEX’s hand in the easy-peeler market and will take the company close to the beginning of its major easy-peeler volume which will begin arriving with Suntina in the middle of December and Minneola from January.
Or and Mor are expected to come on stream at the beginning of March next year.
Quality is looking excellent and volumes across all varieties are up between 10 and 20 per cent. Or volumes are expected to rise by 30 per cent, partly due to increased plantings of about 70 hectares.
On the orange front he said Israeli fruit would benefit from a predicted shortfall in Spanish Navelina. MTEX is bringing South African oranges and small volumes of Spanish fruit into the UK to fill the gaps in the Jaffa-branded orange season. There have also been increased plantings of Newhall specifically for the UK market, and Warmen expects to send around 50,000 to 60,000 cartons of the fruit to the UK this year.
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