The Chilean plum season is set to finish with a flourish at Oppy, when the new fruit known as RR1 arrives at the importer in April.
RR1 is described as a late-harvesting, long-storing plum with yellow flesh that transforms to light red as it ripens. First planted in Chile in 2010, RR1 follows the popular Angelino variety in availability and can sustain the plum season well into May.
“We believe RR1 has excellent potential,” said Evan Myers, Oppy’s director of imports and stonefruit. “Red plum supplies are ramping down. It’s exciting that our growers are producing such a great-tasting piece of fruit at a point in the season when demand is strong.”
RR1 is harvested at 17 to 19 brix, delivering a sweet flavour balanced with just a hint of tang.
The group, North America’s largest-volume Chilean plum marketer, is looking forward to introducing RR1 in the next few weeks, Myers said.
“Early indications suggest that our retail partners are anticipating this plum with as much enthusiasm as we are,” he noted. “As volumes grow, RR1 can extend the plum season considerably longer, making the gap between import and domestic plum availability appreciably smaller.”
While volumes are very modest this season, Myers forecasts exponential growth – not to mention a new and more inviting name – for RR1 in 2015.
