Soon the Medjoul Bonbon picking time will start. The Medjool Bonbon is a Medjool date which is selectively picked by hand immediately after ripening and before it starts to dry on the tree. This makes it a very juicy fruit. The cost of growing, picking and caring for this fruit is significantly higher than the classically dried Medjool, requiring significantly more resources.
Furthermore, the fruit is very sensitive to temperature changes and needs to be preserved constantly under optimal conditions (approximately -20 ℃) until consumption. Lastly, the target market of this product is limited to marketing systems that are capable of maintaining these strict conditions throughout the chain of supply.
Up until recently, there were no uniform measures for standardizing the quality of the Bonbon Medjool dates, which lead to large discrepancies in the quality of the dates on the market.
In November 2020, twenty-one Medjool Bonbon farmers in Israel (which represent the majority of world production) gathered together with the main international exporters to create a unified quality mark for the Medjool Bonbon in order to assure a high quality premium product.
The quality mark consists of strict parameters for growing, picking, packaging, storing and supplying the Bonbon date and are obliged by all involved parties (from farm to table). As of this upcoming harvest season of 2021, the farmers’ quality mark will be found on the packages of the following companies: Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, David Hai and Agrifood. We recognize and thank these companies for collaborating with us.
"It is important for us, as farmers, that our customers and consumers around the world will enjoy our delicious and outstanding product just like we do when picking the date right from the tree”. Says Yossi Kfir, representative of growers association.
For more information, contact the Bonbon Medjoul marketing companies Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, David Hai and Agrifood marketing.