Global Market Report: Pomegranate

Most countries have experienced a relatively good pomegranate season, and despite higher freight rates, the European market appears to be particularly positive as consumption in France continues to rise and Italian production almost doubles compared to the previous season. In South Africa, logistics problems have hampered exports to potential markets, frustrating many growers. While logistics are not a problem in the North American continent, pomegranate growers there are concerned about the impact of water and inadequate labor supplies.

Netherlands: Pomegranates are cheaper despite high shipping costs

Turkey has long continued to send pomegranates to the Netherlands, but what currently dominates the pomegranate market is Peruvian products. "Peru produces 20-30%, so prices inevitably fall. At the same time, because freight rates are three times higher than before, price reductions are practically impossible," noted a Dutch importer.

Pomegranate supply could be reduced in the coming weeks due to strikes in Peru, but according to the importer, pomegranate stocks are so high that they won't cause prices to spike. "Last year we had a special season of high prices, and this year we will have to deal with different price levels."

Maternity leave in Peru is sure to last until week 30. A relatively new pomegranate segment has emerged, with 16-18 small size products increasingly being sold to supermarkets for juicers.

Germany: Good season for pomegranates from Egypt, India and Turkey

Wholesalers from northern Germany will start selling pomegranates from India and Egypt at the end of April. The overseas season is expected to last until October, after which entrepreneurs will turn to the distribution of Turkish pomegranates.

They plan to buy 7 to 10 pallets, each with 150 to 160 pomegranates of calibers 6 and 7, which will be sold in turn to German and Turkish food retail stores everywhere. According to him, the current demand is particularly good. And there are no delivery issues.

The current price of pomegranates is a bit more expensive than last year, as both transportation and container costs have risen significantly. Overall, the shipping costs are very high. Therefore, he had to raise the price per box by 1-2 euros.

France: Pomegranate consumption continues to rise

The Turkish pomegranate season is coming to an end, giving way to the season in Peru. It was the first season to be very positive on a global scale. Even in the face of quality problems caused by excessive rainfall during production at the end of the season, pomegranate prices remain satisfactory. Therefore, the impact of these problems in production on importers is different. In the case of France, pomegranate consumption is increasing. The good reputation of the fruit underpins the increasing consumption.

Italy: Pomegranate season is positive

The Italian pomegranate production season ended at the end of last month. From a production and commercial point of view, this year has been a positive year, despite the difficulties brought about by the increase in packaging and logistics costs. For a major pomegranate producer in southern Italy with more than 300 hectares of land, the total harvest reached 4,700 tonnes this year, compared to 2,500 tonnes last season. More than 50% of the producer's production is sold as fresh produce, with the rest being processed. Its main customers are retail chains in Italy and abroad, especially in Germany and Switzerland.

South Africa: Transport difficulties frustrate pomegranate growers

South Africa's pomegranate harvest recently ended and production is expected to rise from last year, but final export statistics have yet to be released, with some early varieties of fruit already on the market, while most are still in transit, mainly to the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Since the end of last year (the harvest in South Africa began in mid-February), many people in these vacant markets in the Middle East and Europe have sought to buy South African pomegranates, but delays and congestion at South African ports, as well as the availability of equipment and vessels, have prevented growers from meeting the market's strong demand for pomegranates.

Pomegranate growers in the Western Cape had to truck fruit to Ports Elizabeth and Durban to avoid the congested Ports of Cape Town. Wonderful pomegranate varieties could be stored longer before market theory improved, but exporters were no longer easily able to obtain this extravagant variety due to uncertainty in transportation.

The delivery of fruit to Russia is challenging, and early Peruvian pomegranates would have flowed to Russia, but now they are all shipped to Europe and put pressure on the market there. Chile, Peru and Argentina are the main competitors of South African pomegranates in the southern hemisphere.

South Africa's exports to Russia have been growing since the first fruits were shipped a decade ago. Last year, 20,000 pomegranates in 3.8kg cartons were shipped to Russia. Last year, South Africa exported a total of 1.65 million pomegranates in 3.8kg cartons. Mauritius is another growing market for South African pomegranates.

Labor costs, packaging and transportation costs are rising, and exchange rate uncertainty plays an important role in determining grower returns.

Turkey: The price of pomegranates is good in season

The Turkish pomegranate production season is now over. This year is a good season for Turkish pomegranates, better than last year. People who have been storing pomegranates until two weeks ago are able to sell them at very good prices. Pomegranate production is higher this year, but mostly medium in size.

India: Access to the US and Australian markets is good for India

Opening up the US and Australian markets is very important for Indian pomegranate exporters as this will help increase exports to these markets. In particular, due to the impact of COVID, demand in the European and Middle Eastern markets has declined. Summer in India has already begun, which means that the color of the pomegranate will not change in the coming months. However, Indian exporters currently have sufficient inventory to temporarily serve their customers. Logistics has been very challenging over the past 24 months due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increased freight costs. The war in Ukraine further increased costs, which meant that both exporters and customers had to bear some of these costs.

China: Pomegranate harvest leads to low prices

The pomegranate season in China lasts from July to November. This fruit is grown throughout the country, from Shandong in the east to Xinjiang in the west. Last year, China experienced a bumper harvest of pomegranates, and its production season ended at low sales prices.

Last year, the Chinese market opened to Uzbek pomegranates. China also exports pomegranates to Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines. China can supply these markets at lower prices than other producing countries such as Turkey and Egypt. Tunisian seedless pomegranate is a popular variety grown by Chinese growers. In particular, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brother Pomegranate, a grower from Yunnan, made a splash on the Internet and successfully sold pomegranates worth millions of yuan by streaming them live to their 7 million fans.

North America: Labor and water resources are two of the main concerns of pomegranate cultivation

Logistics for North American pomegranate imports appear to be improving.

North American pomegranate supply has been coming from Italy for the past three weeks, and pomegranates exported from there will continue until the beginning of July. "Ships with fresh produce have always been given priority. There will be a little delay in shipping, but it won't be as bad as we thought," says a California grower and shipper. "It's a little difficult to get trucks to get things out of port, but as time goes on, it gets better."

The grower-and-shipper says the Wonderful pomegranate variety is currently in transit. "The harvest in Chile itself is a bit down, probably down 20 percent compared to last year, so there's less production," he said. In addition to Chile, Peruvian pomegranates have also begun to be transported, although their fruits need to be refrigerated first.

At the same time, demand for both imported and domestic pomegranates is strong and is now on sale almost all year round. "Last season, the California pomegranate season ended in a short time because it produced less. But there is only a three-month gap between California pomegranates and imported fruits," he said.

He also added that the demand for pomegranates has been increasing since the pandemic, not only for whole conventional and organic fruits, but also for false seed skins.

In terms of pricing, both lower supply and inflation contributed to higher pomegranate prices this quarter. "I expect this to last for a while because Chile produces less. I don't think we're going to see a big drop any time soon," said the grower-shipper.

Looking ahead to California's pomegranate season, this year's season will begin in the last week of July. "The primary variety in California is the Wonderful pomegranate," he said. "Our early varieties are now flowering, so we'll have a better understanding of the crops here in about three weeks." We started with Maricopa, California, producing the early Grenada. ”

Growers enter the season with concerns about labor and water resources. "These will be challenges this year, especially for our early fruits," he said. "We didn't get any funding from the irrigation district, so it's a big problem. Now we're buying irrigation water, and we're paying between $1500-2000 per acre foot. ”

Peru: Pomegranate production expected to grow by 15% this season

The Peruvian pomegranate industry has experienced significant growth in recent years and will continue its growth trend in another season. According to data shared by the country's pomegranate producers association, Peruvian pomegranate exports were about 5,000 tons in the 2012 season 10 years ago, compared to 38,000 tons last year.

The season is expected to end in May/June, and the industry expects production to grow by 15%, although significant, but if the COVID-19 pandemic does not delay the process of opening up new markets for this Peruvian fruit in the past two years, such as the Chinese market, its export volume could be higher.

"The main destination for Peruvian pomegranates is still Europe, but we are currently trying to enter new markets, including Japan, China, South Korea, Mexico and India," said an industry agency.

To this end, Peru is proposing alternatives to the traditional refrigeration or irradiation treatment practiced in other exported fruits to make it more suitable for pomegranate exports. These traditional market access treatments are validated by the U.S. market, but they are more expensive and require more complex logistics.