For their exceptional flavor and nutritional qualities, pomegranates from Tunisia seduce the most demanding of consumers. Around 1,872 tons were exported to Europe and the Gulf States in 2014 alone.
The production in Tunisia is estimated to have had a volume of 67,000 tons in 2013, on an area of 23,000 hectares. 63 percent of production comes from the coastal region Gabes (the southeast of the country), where pomegranate trees grow in the shade of date palm trees.
When one considers the cultivation, pomegranates in Tunisia take the southern part of the country, especially oases that are normally filled with date palm trees. New production areas are opening up in the north. With this the Tunisian pomegranate production is to experience a new impulse in the coming years.
These new areas have better growing conditions, because there is more rain, accessing irrigation systems is easier, and a lower salt content supports a high production quality. All this beside the possibility that the trees can survive drought, salt and the hot climate.
Among the new cultivation areas is Testour in the northwest of the country, with 1,050 hectares and 12,000 production, and Cape Bon, where 4,700 tons are produced on an area of 1,050 hectares.
Pomegranates are mostly eaten fresh, because the seed covering is very sweet. The fruit is well known for grenadine and tasty marmalade. When cooked and simmered in water, the peels are used for skin products – the fruit offers nutritional and therapeutic qualities to boot.
The Tunisian government is developing an export strategy to divide demand and ensure a high quality, to cover the needs and demands of the different international markets.
For this reason, many plantations are provided with the certificate “organically grown pomegranates” from the European organization. Other plantations in the south are part of the “Gabes pomegranate” program, which ensures a certain color, ripening on the tree without color activation, and juicy, fresh fruit flesh that tastes very good.
Elite Trading Consult UG is responsible for the distribution of the Agri didon pomegranate in Germany.
