Spanish persimon

Spanish Persimon is gearing up for the launch its 2015/16 promotional campaign in the UK and other key markets.

Foods from Spain, which has run the campaign in the UK for the past ten years, told Fruitnet that promotions this year would once again focus on education and giving as many people as possible the chance to taste the fruit for the first time.

“The campaign will continue the drive to educate consumers about the quality, provenance and season for DO-certified Spanish persimmon from the Valencia region. In spite of the fantastic sales growth we’ve experienced in this market, there are still plenty of shoppers who have yet to discover it,” said Rafael Perucho, head of the regulatory council overseeing the Kaki Ribera del Xúquer DOP.

“We will be working with food journalists and bloggers, ensuring they have good information about Spanish persimmon, as well as a chance to try the fruit for themselves.”

Although planted area continues to expand at an average annual rate of 20 per cent, last summer’s intense heat wave together with localised hailstorms in the autumn mean production for 2015/16 is pegged at a similar level to last season at around 200,000 tonnes –which in light of the prices achieved last year is perhaps no bad thing.

“We expect a similar season to last year as new plantings have started to yield fruit and are thus compensating for the lower volumes,” said Perucho.