US: pomegranate popularity and acreage on the rise

So far, it looks like the pomegranate harvest in the Central San Joaquin Valley is going to be on time with enough volume to satisfy the market. "We're expecting a normal volume and larger than normal sizes, so that means that a larger percentage of the harvest is going to be larger sizes," said Tom Tjerandsen, manager of Pomegranate Council in San Francisco.

Volume is expected to be two million boxes, up slightly from last year's 1.7 million boxes. Warm, dry days and cool evenings have provided optimum weather for the pomegranates, Tjerandsen said. Normally, the average pomegranate is somewhere about the size of a croquet ball, Tjerandsen said. This year, the pomegranates are in between the size of a grapefruit and a softball. "Mother Nature has treated the pomegranate crop well. This is the first time in five years where sizes have been noticeably larger," Tjerandsen said.

Pomegranates have been growing in popularity over the past couple of years with the inception of new pomegranate juice companies like PomWonderful and recent health studies that suggest pomegranates may have disease and cancer fighting abilities. Traditionally, cranberry juice is known as being good for attaching itself to viruses inside the body and carrying them out, relieving bladder and urinary tract problems, Tjerandsen said. Preliminary studies show that pomegranate juice could be several times more effective in combating these ailments, Tjerandsen said.

"There's even some studies out there that are intimating that pomegranate juice might help in removing the AIDS virus. These studies are unsubstantiated right now, but if they're proven, there won't be enough pomegranates to supply the market," Tjerandsen said. California produces about 98 percent of the country's supply of pomegranates and has steadily been increasing its acreage over the past few years.

Right now, there are about 15,000 acres of pomegranates. Within the next four to five years, California could easily have 20,000-25,000 acres of pomegranates in the ground, said Dee Slayman, a grower/packer/shipper southwest of Bakersfield. "We used to be kind of a novelty crop, but now we're becoming more of a mainstream commodity," Slayman said.

Slayman, who grows early season pomegranate varieties, just finished up his harvest, which he began in early September. Most of the rest of the other growing areas in the state begin harvest in mid-September and go until the end of November. "We had a strong pomegranate market in the early deal. It seems that the industry is leaning more toward juice," Slayman said.

Along with juice products, the pomegranate industry has been steadily introducing other products into the market. Airls, which are pomegranate seeds still in their sacs, have been popping up in retail stores around the country this past year, Slayman said. "They're packed in 5-ounce or 10-ounce shells, so that people can more easily consume the fruit or use it for cooking or sprinkling on salads," Slayman said.

Pomegranates are also becoming popular ingredients in various makeup and skin care products, Slayman said. "Pomegranates by themselves have a natural sun protective factor of eight and have a lot of other beneficial qualities," Slayman said.

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