Israel's date harvest has started 10 days earlier than last year, with Bhari dates the first variety currently being picked. Gal Twig, from the Israel Dates Board: "Our date season has started with the little yellow Bhari date, which is reaching the end of the harvest in the north of the country. We started very slowly with the Medjool dates. This season started a little bit earlier than usual, about 10 days earlier. In three weeks, we're going to start with the main part of the Medjool harvest season."
He says they see early signs of a good date harvest across Israel, with the sought after Medjool dates the prime fruit that is awaited by markets. "We see the quality is very good this year. The sizing is average - but as we see now so early in the season, it is going to be good. The quantity will be similar to last season, with about 55,000 tons to be harvested. About 40,000 tons will be exported."
The world market is empty with a big pull for dates, says Twig. "As we are starting the season now, the demand is very good. The local market only has dates that we saved for the retailers. The market is empty, everybody is looking for dates. The markets are waiting for the new date season from Israel. The market abroad is a little bit thirsty, we're going to bring the best quality," states Twig.
The date industry from Israel export their fruit all over the world, to 60 countries. Asia is a big focus, with China and India standing out, while Europe remains a key market for them. "China has just started again as a market, it will take time to grow. We start small, it will take a few years to build good interest and build the market in China. In India, we also started with market research a few years ago and will update it, back then we tried to expand our business in India. However, Europe is still our biggest, we still invest in that market," explains Twig.
In recent years, the Brazilian market has also developed a taste for Medjool dates from Israel. "We export about 2,000 tons of dates to Brazil. It's a good market where people are starting to get to know the date products."
Twig concludes by saying for the next couple of months they will be very busy harvesting and exporting dates from Israel, with the Medjool dates as their crown jewel. "It will be a very busy few months. By February, we will know what's left, but it should be good for the next four months."
For more information:
Gal Twig
Israel Dates Board
Tel: +972524312978
Email: [email protected]
www.g-twig.com