Hispa Fruit offers new Caribbean type
March 8, 2010
With a very flavourful charentais and a new Caribbean type perfectly suited to the retail trade, trading company Hispa Fruit is launching two unique products. Not only that, the company has also improved the availability of yellow melons.
The charentais melon, variety Agustino RZ, developed by Rijk Zwaan, is the first charentais to be available in the period from January to end April. “Producer Exporpack grows these melons exclusively for us in Costa Rica,” says Fred Rennen, commercial director of Hispa Fruit. “Just like Caribbean, this variety is of excellent quality and has an excellent shelf life, but the flavour of this charentais melon is even better.”
Left: Fred Rennen (Hispa Fruit), Right: Vincent van Wolferen (Rijk Zwaan)
The Caribbean line has also been extended. Alongside Caribbean Gold which is an enormous success and has, in recent years, developed into the standard in the cantaloupe segment, there now is Caribbean Dream. Fred: “Together with Rijk Zwaan and our growers Exporpack and Dulce we have recently conducted extensive trials in Costa Rica. Caribbean Dream has the same good characteristics as Caribbean Gold but is just a touch smaller, making it the ideal size for European retailers.”
And the yellow-melon range has also grown. Fred: “Natal RZ remains absolutely the best-ever-tasting melon there is. But our grower needed a variety that is especially suited to growing it in Central America. With Ducral RZ we now have found such a variety. Because of its resistance pattern, this melon is ideal for Costa Rica and is just as full of flavour as Natal. That is how the reliability (= availability) of yellow melons has improved enormously at a stroke.”