Finger limes pull in UK buyers

Finger limes pull in UK buyers

Buyers were battling it out for Australian finger limes in Berlin last week.

The unusual variety - a long, thin version with a caviar-like pulp - dates back more than 200 years.

James Boyd, who heads up Finger Limeing Good, has already received offers from UK multiples proposing to buy the entire crop and has had serious interest from foodservice suppliers across Europe.

He will be in the UK this week to meet potential distributors.

Boyd intends to step up production in Australia, with plans to plant 30,000 trees to add to the 20,000 already in the ground in New South Wales.

He is also looking into northern-hemisphere production to extend the supply window, which stretches from January to June. Morocco and China are under consideration.

Boyd started producing finger limes in Australia eight years ago, after coming across them growing in the wild and realising their commercial potential.

He has worked with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to develop a prepared version on the fruit in pulp sachets, using Tahitian lime juice as a stabiliser, to appeal to the drinks market.

Boyd told FPJ: “Finger limes really sell themselves. I have been marketing the product as citrus caviar, for champagne and cocktails, and the connotation that this brings gives the product a lift. But the fruit can be used in a number of ways.

“The decision to have 50,000 trees was based on the marketing and interest we have had since we exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica, in Bangkok, last year, and now we are going to step it up again,” he added.

The variety will appear on TV show Ready, Steady, Cook this week.