Commercial volumes of Jazz will reach 500,000 cartons for the first time this year in line with a production target of six to 10 million cartons by 2012.

“From now on volumes will double every year and that’s very good because it’s a wonderful apple,” said Tony Fissett, md of Enzafruit New Zealand (Continent) NV, which owns the Jazz apple brand. “This year there saw limited [commercial] volume in the UK, but from next year on bigger volumes are coming from the UK.”

Currently there are 215,000 Jazz trees under production in the UK, but trees are young and significant commercial volumes from the UK are not expected until 2008.

Jack Sowerby, group company secretary for Turners & Growers, said: “The plan is to have six to 10m cartons worldwide, but that’s a long-term plan. Six million cartons should be under production by 2012. It should all be planted by 2009.

“It’s a beautiful apple. I grow six thousand jazz trees in my orchard and it’s the best apple I’ve ever had. It’s easy to handle; once you get it off the tree, in the cool chain it’s fantastic. The best thing of all is the taste - it’s superb.”

He said prospects for Jazz going forward were excellent and that the variety would set the benchmark against which all other apples will be judged. “It’s such a unique apple. It certainly will sit in between Royal Gala and Braeburn because it spans both - it has the sweetness of Gala and the fight of Braeburn. We would envisage that it will become a very strong apple,” he said.

New Zealand is currently harvesting Royal Gala and, according to Sowerby, the Southern Hemisphere crop will be up on last year. “The size profile will change because we’ve had a difficult summer with not the best growing conditions for our fruit. But it will be a good year in terms of volume and supply and hopefully good prices.”

“The key for the future for fruit growers in New Zealand is to make sure the fruit they sell overseas has a home and it’s not given to traders who are going to supply it in a manner that won’t assist good pricing. “

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