The Boyer company offers passion fruit to its clients all year round. Three origins are available depending on the season. “We work with up to 130 tons of the Vietnamese origin per year, with a peak between November and March. We also have the Guadeloupe origin, which offers a different and always exceptional product. It is one of our nicest and most impressive references in terms of caliber and fruit filling. However, it is more difficult to work with it because the rainy period makes it complicated to establish a program. The harvest usually starts in February and ends in April/May. At the moment, we are in the middle of the Reunion cycle with a very tasty reference and about 30 tons a year,” explains Jean-Marc Boyer of the Boyer company.
A good season from the Reunion
The “maracujas” season from the Reunion started about a month ago. “This year, we are satisfied in terms of the quality of the fruit in the fields and those grown in greenhouses. The Reunion Island has benefited from dry and sunny weather, very favorable for field crops. Indeed, when the conditions allow it, a passion fruit grown in the field can be more powerful both visually and in terms of taste.”
A balanced market
With reasonable volumes and a relatively humble global demand, the passion fruit market tends towards a certain balance. “Like every year, the sales were very dynamic during the Christmas period. We did not experience any air freight problem at the end of the year. However, we are more concerned about the Caribbean season, which will probably coincide with a lockdown again this year. In any case, sales are going well this year. Volumes are low, which perfectly fits the demand.”
A fruit which is becoming more popular
The passion fruit market remains a niche market, but it has somewhat grown in recent years. “The product is progressing and appreciated in many culinary forms, from juices to desserts (fruit salads, ice-creams and other pastries). For our part, we have acquired, over the years, a better control of the offer in terms of quality, and we are always very demanding on phytosanitary controls and MRLs. We clearly want to widen our follow-up on this range. We wish to move towards developing the Reunion origin because of the richness of the soil and the high quality of the fruit it produces. It is also another opportunity to promote the quality of the French know-how, to be even more in line with our slogan: ‘Philibon, the taste of the origin’.”
For more information:
Boyer
Z.I. Borde-Rouge
100 rue François Charmeux
82200 Moissac
France
Phone: +33 (0)5 63 04 15 64
jeanmarcboyer@philibon.com
www.philibon.com