Most Egyptian mango programmes are built on Keitt and Kent, and for good reason. Both ship reliably, both come in predictable volume, and both are familiar to buyers everywhere. Naomi occupies a different position. It is the variety importers ask about after they have run a season or two of Keitt and want something that differentiates them at the top of the shelf. This is a working profile of what Naomi is and where it genuinely fits.
What Naomi looks and eats like
Naomi is an Israeli-bred cultivar that has established itself well in the Egyptian growing regions. Fruit is oval to round with a distinctive red to purple blush over a yellow-orange ground colour, and it colours up more dramatically than either Keitt or Kent. Flesh is deep orange, fibreless and firm. Brix at eating-ripe runs 13 to 15 degrees. The stone is comparatively small, so edible recovery is high, which matters for anyone considering it in a food service or fresh-cut context.
Harvest window
Naomi runs early to mid season in Egypt, generally from the second half of June through late July, occasionally touching the first days of August in cooler seasons. That places it after the earliest local varieties and before Keitt takes over. The window is short, roughly five to six weeks of usable export volume, and it does not extend. Buyers wanting Naomi for a specific promotion date need to plan against that calendar rather than assume availability across the season. By the time the Keitt peak arrives in September, Naomi is finished on the export grade.
Sizing and packing
Naomi fruit runs 400 to 600 grams, which fills counts 8, 9, 10 and 12 in the 5 kg carton: count 8 is 590 to 670 grams, count 9 is 530 to 590 grams, count 10 is 460 to 530 grams, and count 12 is 385 to 460 grams. Naomi does not produce count 6 or count 7 fruit in commercial quantity — a buyer who needs fruit above 670 grams should specify Keitt or Fagri Kelan instead.
Standard packing is the single-layer 5 kg carton on moulded trays, which protects the blush from rub marking. That blush is the commercial point of the variety, so tray packing rather than bulk is strongly recommended. A 5 kg box is available at the same net weight, and a 4.5 kg carton on request. Palletisation follows the same configuration as Keitt: 200 cartons per standard pallet in the 5 kg format, or 180 in the box, on a 120 x 100 cm pallet. A 40 ft reefer takes 21 pallets — 4,160 cartons and 20,800 kg net.
Transit behaviour
Naomi is firmer than Kent and holds its shape well, but it colours and softens faster than Keitt once the chain is broken. Set point of 12 to 13 degrees Celsius suits it, with the same 85 to 90 percent relative humidity and ethylene management used across our mango programme. Sea legs of up to ten days work reliably. Beyond that, arrival firmness becomes harder to guarantee, and air freight is usually the better choice for distant premium accounts. For the mechanics of stowage and vent settings, see our guidance on loading a mango reefer from Egypt.
Who should be buying Naomi
Naomi makes sense for retail lines where visual appeal drives the sale, for specialist fruit importers building a varietal range, and for Gulf accounts serving a high-end customer. It is the wrong choice for a large-volume commodity programme, where Keitt is more economical and more available, and it is the wrong choice for anyone who needs mango across the full June to October span from one variety. Buyers weighing the three side by side will find our comparison of Keitt, Kent and Naomi a useful next read.
Naomi allocation for the 2027 window opens in the spring. To register interest, request a specification sheet, or discuss Keitt availability for the balance of this season, contact the Nile Prime export desk on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.