After the (Chinese) start of autumn, the pomegranates in the Sichuan region will ripen quickly. According to the prediction of the pomegranate farmers in the Huili region, the Tunisian soft seed pomegranates will ripen one after the other.
Mr. Peng comes from Fule village in the Huili region of Sichuan province. In 2010 he started cultivating Tunisian soft seed pomegranates. "Today there are more than 4500 fruit trees in the pomegranate orchards. More than a housand of those trees were grafted five years ago, another thousand, three years ago, another thousand trees two years ago and an additional thousand have been planted this year. Since we mainly harvest the pomegranates from five-year-old trees, we estimate a production volume of 35,000 kg. Next year, we predict a production volume of 60,000 kg," says Mr. Peng.
Why only harvest the 5-year-old trees? Mr. Peng explains: "The main reason being the taste of the pomegranates. Compared to a small tree only two to three years old, a 5-year-old tree produces tastier pomegranates and the seeds are also softer. So the pomegranates can be enjoyed by the very old and the very young."
In comparison to the last few years, this year's sales period is postponed for fifteen to twenty days. "The main reason is the weather. We had cold weather a few times during the blooming season. Many fruits didn't grow. A little later, when a few difficult trees did bear fruit, we hit a new wave of cold weather. Many young fruits fell off again. So the old fruit trees won't produce their normal volume this year. But as the Tunisian pomegranate gradually gets the approval of consumers, the cultivation surface has expanded in the last two years. We foresee a general increase in the production volume of pomegranates."
As the older trees didn't yield the estimated quantities, fruit farmers estimate that the buying prices will rise this year. "The buying price for large quantities on the market was around 19 RMB per kg last year. With the underproduction of many older orchard trees, we estimate that the price will rise a bit."
"Compared to the usual pomegranate, Tunisian soft seed pomegranates are more colourful. They also reach a sweetness of 15 to 17 brix, and even higher near the end of the season. What's more, our orchard only uses organic bacterial manure and weeds are eliminated manually. Not only does that make the pomegranates prettier on the outside, but the pomegranate seeds have a nicer shape and a bright purple red colour. The taste is also more pure."
