The persimmon harvesting season is starting in Murcia, and growers expect a good volume of good-quality fruit, although with slightly smaller sizes due to the high summer temperatures.
"We've had good quality and demand for stone fruit. The grape season has been more difficult due to competition from other countries. Now we are starting with persimmon. The product's quality appears to be good, as we've had no strong winds, and the skin is looking perfect, without any damage, although I would say that the size is rather average. In conclusion, we are harvesting good quality persimmons, but with a smaller size," says Miguel Ángel Sánchez, manager of Distinet.
© Distinet
"We harvest around 3.5 million kilos of persimmons annually. As for the total fruit production, we reach around 18 million kilos grown on 420 hectares. In the next four years, we hope to achieve 33% growth for all products."
"In persimmon, compared to other growing areas, we have so far been dealing with the cotonet problem much better, because the pest is not in our area, and in the surrounding area we apply treatments on stone fruit to keep it in check. This appears to keep the persimmon protected."
© Distinet
So far, "rain has been scarce in our area. We are starting now with the harvest, and we will continue until the beginning of next year," says the manager.
According to Sánchez, there is a difference between traditional kaki and persimmon thanks to treatments to eliminate the fruit's astringency. "The fruit has a longer shelf life, and it has a crunchy bite, like that of an apple. They are both of the Rojo Brillante variety, but thanks to this treatment, they remain hard and without the astringency. I think this has made it much more suitable for home storage, because it can be kept for up to two weeks outside the fridge."
© Distinet
"We are mainly targeting supermarkets in Europe. We also ship persimmon and cherries to Asian countries by air, and grapes to South Africa by sea," says Sánchez. "We mostly serve supermarkets in Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. We have all our production programmed, as our company is not open-price oriented."
© Lydia González
In the end, "I believe that the lower quality products will go to the market and the better products to the supermarket, because they offer convenience, stable prices, continuity, and ease of purchasing what you want," he says.
For more information:
Miguel Ángel Sánchez
Distinet
Tel.: +34 667 72 16 29
[email protected]
www.distinetmurcia.es
