"After a flying start with lychees by airfreight, the first lychees will arrive in the Netherlands on the boat MSC Cassandra from South Africa at the end of this week. "That is exceptionally early, normally the sea freight lychees from Madagascar are always two weeks earlier than the South African ones. This year, for the first time, they are due to arrive at the same time," says Herold Hage of N&K, the Dutch import office of the French Kinobé group.
The variety of both origins is Mauritian with the difference that the size range in South Africa is coarser than that from Madagascar. "The sizes carried in Europe are XL and XXL (30-34 mm). The size Large is exported in South Africa only to the Middle East and sold on the domestic market," Herold said. "Mauritius Lychees from South Africa are characterised by the size of the fruit, the beautiful colour and the delicious sweet taste."
"Furthermore, in terms of certification, our South African packers of lychee under our own brand have everything in line with current social standards. Global Gap is present but also social compliance and food safety certification are not missing, such as Siza and FCCS 22000. This allows us to supply almost every supermarket with this beautiful South African fruit," the importer concludes.
For more information:
N&K 
Koopliedenweg 3
Barendrecht
Tel: +31 (0) 78-3032440
[email protected]