Seeka, the largest producer of kiwi fruit and nashi pears in Australia, is investing millions in a fruit that might be unknown to many Australians. The company, founded in New Zealand, is planning to plant 40,000 jujube trees at its Australian operation near Shepparton in Victoria.
General manager Jonathan Van Popering: "A lot of growers are unwilling to make that jump to something that's in the land of the unknown, but it's kind of what we do. We've got kiwi fruit, we've got nashi pears, there's not a great many growers in those industries, so for us, it's normal to be a bit different."
With plans to plant 40 hectares of trees by next year, there are some concerns the small Australian jujube industry, which largely supplies the local Asian population, won't be able to sustain the big jump in production. However, South Australian grower and nursery operator Jody Miltenoff, who supplies trees to Seeka, said the industry was ready for a bigger player.
Source: abc.net.au