Pomanjou group is looking to grow the Honeycrunch apple in new areas this winter after three years of production in France, it was revealed at AGF.
The company is planning to grow in Germany and South Africa to offer extended availability and also seeks to expand its areas in France in the Loire Valley and the south west.
Gilles de Puineuf, president director general, said: “Honeycrunch is a very refreshing and crunchy apple and is ideally consumed between October and May. Two years ago we grew 700 tonnes of Honeycrunch, last year this figure was 1,200t and next year we are aiming for 2,000t. This is still only five per cent of our apple crop, but we believe the variety has a great future and we are predicting 20,000t by 2011.”
Between 60 and 65 per cent of the variety is exported with Germany, UK and the Netherlands the biggest customers. “Fifteen per cent of the apples are exported to the UK and we have a good relationship with Sainsbury's,” Puineuf said.
