Australian fresh produce company Perfection Fresh has securing a licensing agreement with Israel’s Volcani Centre to grow the Shelly and Agam mangoes in Australia.
The two varieties were bred in Israel and will be trialled at farms in Queensland and the Northern Territory, according to ABC Rural.
Perfection Fresh CEO Michael Simonetta told the national broadcaster that so far, the mangoes were responding well to the Australia climate, with both varieties earlier than Kensington Pride (KP) mangoes, giving them a market advantage.
'[The Shelly mango] is very close to a KPmango when it comes to taste, but for me it has attributes which are better than a KP, in that it has a better shelf-life and is not as susceptible to post-harvest diseases,” he said.
'I think we need to expand the [mango] season and we need to give consumers choices and delight consumers with good-eating product, which lasts longer on the shelf.
'Consumers are enjoying the variants in categories such as apples, tomatoes, grapes and I think there's a need to further expand the availability [of mangoes] and the different profiles which new varieties will bring.'
Following the trials, Perfection Fresh will decide whether to go ahead with the commercialisation of the plantings in the coming 12 to 18 months, with the mangoes to then be rebranded.
Perfection Fresh also holds the exclusive rights to sell and market Calypso mangoes, purchasing them from One Harvest in August last year.
