It’s a comeback crop. That’s how one Florida grower-shipper is looking at this fall’s Pummelo crop.
Noble Citrus will begin with retail production around the first of October and harvest will continue into December, sometimes even a week or two into January. “Last year at the first of October, we had Hurricane Ian and that devastated our industry,” says Noble’s Quentin Roe. “It affected 50-100 percent of the crop and it put the grower community into a tailspin trying to get tree health back by bloom time which is March in Florida.”
That said, its production team did work on tree recovery and in all, a good crop of Pummelo fruit is expected this year. This includes the company’s Starburst Pummelo, a variety developed by Noble Citrus in the late 1980s. This sweet-tangy, pink variety has thinner skin than traditional Pummelo varieties and is also often seedless or low-seed.
Starburst also gave the company a platform to help grow Pummelo consumption from beyond the Asian market that traditionally consumes the fruit. “We have a star-like sticker on the fruit identifying how you use it, what you should look for and more and we’re seeing double-digit growth year over year,” says Roe. “This year we’re also introducing a QR code on that sticker that takes you to a landing page where you can learn about Pummelos.”
Tree replacement
Not only does Noble Citrus continue to add Starburst acreage to help meet demand, but it’s also continually replenishing its trees--Pummelo trees are high energy and can have a 12-15 year lifespan. “It is an intense variety to grow but something we specialize in. We are able to project increased usage in the marketplace so we’re adding acreage and constantly monitoring where we are with existing acreage and taking some out of production,” says Roe. “While we are in growth mode in adding acreage, it’s also a fairly thin market so you have to make sure you don’t crash the market.”
As for pricing, it’s anticipated to be priced fairly similar to last year. “For us, it’s a rebuild the customer base year so we’ll be steady with pricing,” says Roe.
This fall, Pummelos aren’t the only unique citrus item Noble Citrus is getting ready for. In the Thanksgiving to Christmas window, it will also have its Autumn Honey tangerines and after Christmas, its Juicy Crunch tangerines. Both are still newer items to consumers and acreage on these also continues to grow.
For more information:
Jeff Stachelek
Noble Citrus
[email protected]
https://noblecitrus.com/