Australian custard apple growers say they are experiencing a good start to the season, with plentiful supply of the fruit despite some weather challenges over summer.
Volumes are forecast to be greater than last season with the Pinks Mammoth variety, due to a heavy fruit set and young trees coming into larger production.
"The season so far is going well," Grower Patti Stacey said. "It started a couple of weeks later and should peak around the full moon in April to end of May. The dry summer has affected the fruit set so the fruit may be a little smaller in size and there will be less of the African Prides. These were affected more by the dry weather."
Every year this nutrient-rich fruit flourishes in line with the full moon, with the season expected to run well into the winter months. It follows very dry conditions in December and January, which affected fruit set on orchards without irrigation. Heavy rains in Queensland in March caused some fruit loss but overall Ms Stacey says fruit quality is good.
“The increased heat in NSW has resulted in an outstandingly large crop, and Queensland has had enough rain now to last until the end of the season," Ms Stacey said. "These growing conditions have resulted in fruit that will be as sweet as ever, and we expect an abundance of custard apples to be available nation-wide from early April. The season is looking promising, and we’re all excited for some delicious, fresh Aussie custard apples to hit stores."
She also expects growth in production to continue in coming years, given there are many Pinks Mammoth trees in the ground that are not yet fully producing.
"Production will increase with these trees," she said. Consumption of custard apples is slowly increasing as more Pinks Mammoth are available. Demand is increasing due to better varieties and better fruit quality. Export is small but steady. The high domestic price is restricting export."
Growers say more promotion of the fruit is needed, and with limited budget the focus is on reviewing the most effective and impactful platforms to use.
"Social Media has played a big role in promotion and is proving to be very cost effective,” Ms Stacey said. “Fruit quality plays a big role in improving fruit consumption. Education of growers in growing the fruit and education in retailers handling the fruit is ongoing. Custard apple is still relatively unknown among consumers. Focusing on the health benefits is a good way to engage people with the fruit – it’s low GI, naturally sweet, an excellent source of Vitamin C and contains potassium.
Ms Stacey said that one serving of custard apple contained 64.5mg of Vitamin C, or 161 per cent of the recommended daily intake requirement for Australian adults.
For more information
Patti Stacey
Phone: +61 2 6629 5333
pcstacey@bigpond.com
www.custardapple.com.au