“There is more and more awareness of pomegranate in Australia,” PomLife general manager Joshua Reuveni says, noting that until a few years ago “pomegranate wasn’t such a common fruit to have on Australian tables”.
“Now, consumption of the fruit is also increasing as people become more familiar with it, which is very good.”
PomLife established their orchards, in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, in 2008 – well before the majority of Australians were familiar with the fruit. The company is now one of the largest growers of pomegranate and supplies both fresh fruit and value-added products all across Australia.
“We have about 110 hectares of pomegranate – about 75,000 trees in total – and our main variety is Wonderful,” Mr Reuveni says. While they do occasionally export some fruit to other markets, he says their focus is “on the growing demand in Australia”.
He says they are currently preparing for harvest, which will begin in March.
“The coming season looks beautiful for us,” he says. “We’re expecting high quality fruit, with a minimum of 16 brix, so we’re looking forward to starting the season.”
While there has been some extreme weather through the region, with hailstorms and heatwaves at different times over the past few months, Mr Reuveni says PomLife has managed the conditions well and that all their fruit is looking good.
“We always put a lot of effort into the quality of our fruit, before, during and after the season,” he says.
“So in the lead up to fruiting, for instance, we can trim our trees in such a way that even on hot days we manage to protect the fruit from excessive heat. A lot of resources go into looking after the trees so we can get the best fruit every season.”
Although pomegranate have been imported into Australia for years, the local industry is still relatively young, and there are growers of varying sizes across the country. Mr Reuveni says that this means there is some “good competition”, but that PomLife has set itself apart in terms of both volumes and quality.“You’ve got small growers and bigger growers, but as far as I’m aware, we’re probably the biggest. In terms of quality, we don’t have any competition,” he says.
“We have established ourselves as offering consistency with quality and delivering the volumes needed by big chains, as well as in the food industry.”
About 65% of PomLife’s harvest will be sold as fresh fruit, with the remaining 35% sold as value-added products, including fresh and frozen pomegranate arils and pomegranate juice.
“With these value-added products, we have managed to extend the local season. The frozen pomegranate arils, for example, are produced over 6 months during the local season, so that guarantees local produce for the whole year,” he says.
“This is a great benefit to our customers, especially in the food industry, because it means they can source locally grown produce for the whole year and not worry about supply running out.”
Australian consumers have become more aware of pomegranate as studies have revealed the fruits have many health benefits – including its high antioxidant content. It has also been showcased throughout the food industry, and is now featured on the menus of many of Australia’s top restaurants.
For more information:
Joshua Reuveni
PomLife
Tel: +61 1300 970 769
Email: [email protected]
www.pomlife.com.au