The strong growth of the crop and above all the forecasts for future awareness of the sector means it is seeking new destinations outside the E.U.
The forecasts that are being handled indicate that within the short period of three or four years, production could reach 600,000 tonnes. Vicente Masiá, chairman of the National Persimmon Association explained to Fruit Today Euromagazine that “there is no concern about reaching this figure because we know very well what must be done: find markets outside the E.U., and this is what we are doing at the Association.”
“It is not a good idea to overload the European supply. If our target is to maintain the profitability throughout the chain, it is better to expand to a large number of countries and therefore, we must copy the citrus fruit sector and reach 80 countries instead of 40.”
And along the same lines, he explained that “certain products need promotions when the supply is very high, but others rarely need them. If a promotion is carried out it is difficult for the price to go back to reasonable values. We do not want to start off this dynamic. We must sell more, but not concentrate all our efforts on Europe and saturate it with persimmons.”
To face up to the future situation, the idea is to “work together to open up new trade protocols in countries where to date exports could not be made”, Masiá emphasises.
Currently, the largest foreign markets are the E.U. countries, particularly Germany and France, but other destinations such as Canada, the Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and other countries from South-eastern Asia are beginning to stand out.
Another of the Association’s targets shown on its road map is to obtain a better positioning on the supermarket shelves, managing to extend the campaign. “With new varieties we can be present on the market more weeks in the year. The Rojo Brillante is the star variety, but others must be found that contribute to extending both the start and the end of the campaign.”
Members of the Association market the variety Tom Wax, which can be on the market for another two weeks. “It does not exceed the Rojo Brillante in quality, but its harvest is earlier, which from the business point of view is very good, although I must point out that it is better for the other varieties to have finished when the Rojo Brillante comes onto the market.”
Regarding the difference that may arise in the agronomical behaviour of the persimmon in different places, the executive states that “these differences occur, but if the guidelines for the crop are correct, the results can be just as excellent.”
On the other hand, but along these same lines, the chairman of the Association emphasises that production could become more and more expensive due to the different pests which, naturally, will tend to increase and will require treatment.”
