The Galil avocado strain ends the summer avocado seasonal scarcity. These will be hitting the stores as the season of the tasty South American fruit begins. This means avocado lovers will be thrilled that the long summer spell of avocado scarcity and accompanying exorbitant prices are drawing to a close.
Israel's avocado season officially began on Tuesday with the arrival of Galil avocados to stores. The Galil, an Israeli innovation, begins to produce flowers before other strains and therefore is the first to bear fruit in the new season.
Israeli farmers currently cultivate six different types of avocados, in addition to the Galil, including the Ettinger, another Israeli innovation which is picked at the end of September, and Hass – the most common avocado type in the world.
Israelis eat between six to 8 kg. of avocado per year, which is roughly the same per capita consumption as that of Mexicans.
CEO of Galil Local Market from Mioluot group, Yiftah Ortal, told The Jerusalem Post that some European countries only consume half a kilogram of avocado per person per year. “If the rest of the world catches up to Israel,” he said. “The demand will go sky high.”
In a press release, Ortal suggested consumers ensure that the fruit they purchase bears a sticker of a scarecrow, showing that it was marketed by his firm, and adds that if the avocado is still a little hard to the touch one can hasten the ripening process by placing the fruit with an apple or a banana in a paper bag. The other fruit will emit Ethylene causing the avocado to ripen for consumption in no time.
Israel had been producing the fruit on a large scale since the 1960s.