It's feijoa season in Western Australia's Southern Forests, and the region's growers are looking at a successful harvest, marked by high volumes and good quality.
Flow Clark of Karrdor, who packs, processes, and markets the fruit, says the season has exceeded expectations in both size and flavour of the final product.
"We're seeing significantly higher volumes this season, but what's really exciting is the quality, the flavour, aroma, and size are exceptional."
The feijoa season in Australia falls during autumn, typically lasting 6 to 8 weeks. "With the changing climate and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, we are seeing fruit ripen earlier in some years. That said, this season has held on well, and consumers should still be able to find feijoas on shelves for a few more weeks yet. We're currently grading, packing, and processing around 2 tonnes of fruit a day, operating 7 days a week across the 8-week season, which means we'll see over 112 tonnes of fruit move through our packing shed alone. That's not counting additional volumes from other packing sheds, as well as growers in the region who pack and market independently."
More production and stronger yields
Volumes have more than doubled this year, and a lot of that growth is due to more trees reaching maturity and producing stronger yields.
"Growing conditions have also been significantly better than last season, which was tough across the region, with a dry and hot spring and summer that impacted both yield and fruit quality. This year, we've had favourable growing conditions, and the results are showing: the fruit is plump, aromatic, and well-formed, and the yields are substantially higher. Feijoas prefer cooler climates, but they're surprisingly hardy and capable of withstanding high temperatures as well, which makes them quite well-suited to parts of the Australian climate. The Southern Forests region offers an ideal mix: cool autumn mornings and evenings with warm days, which helps the fruit develop its rich flavour and aroma," said Flow.
Marketing
The majority of Southern Forests' fresh feijoas go to wholesalers across Australia, particularly in Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland. They also offer direct-to-customer sales through their website, which continues to grow in popularity.
"We've trialled shipments to New Zealand in the past and are currently exploring opportunities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau for next season. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet a trade delegation from Shanghai, which even led to a lunch with the Australian Prime Minister. While expanding into China is a longer-term goal, recent developments such as Australian apples gaining market access are certainly encouraging signs for future export potential."
Alongside the fresh fruit trade, Karrdor is also turning second-grade feijoas into a range of gourmet products, including jams, chutneys, fresh juice, and a sparkling soda range. The Karrdor team is currently experimenting with a small-batch distillery to create a feijoa-based alcohol and developing a feijoa syrup that pairs with ice cream.
For more information:
Laura Bolitho
Southern Forest Food
Tel: +61 8 9772 4180
[email protected]
www.southernforestsfood.com