The first Denomination of Origin (DO) certified Spanish persimmon is arriving in UK supermarkets this week, with growers confident they can improve on last year’s record results.
Rafael Perucho, head of the regulatory council, Kaki de la Ribera del Xúquer, which controls the DO certification for the fruit, said favourable growing conditions and new plantings have produced approximately 10 per cent more fruit than last year’s crop.
This year, the DO has launched a brand logo, with the aim of highlighting certified fruit and the spelling of the product with a single ‘m’.
“We enjoyed a particularly strong season last year in the UK, where we have continued to grow dramatically,” Perucho said.
“'Persimon' has moved rapidly from being a niche fruit to a mainstream player that regularly outsells mangoes and kiwifruit during the season. This, coupled with a good availability of quality fruit, means we are very optimistic for the potential for growth in both this year and beyond.”
In the 2012/13 season, more than 12 million individual fruits were sold in the UK between mid-October and January, helped by an ongoing promotional campaign by Foods from Spain.
María José Sevilla, director of foods from Spain, said: “We have been thrilled with the growth in awareness and sales of Spanish persimmon over the last few years. With the launch of a brand this year, and the sustained promotional effort we are implementing for a further season, we are confident that we can further build on the success of this incredible fruit in the UK market.”
Spanish persimmon is grown in the Ribera del Xúquer valley in the Valencia region of Spain, where it is DO certified. It is known in other countries as kaki fruit and is available in the UK from October until January.
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