The technical seminar, organised by the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin, will cover the UK pomegranate market, varieties and types of pomegranate and new marketing trends.
The pomegranate will be one of the star products of the ninth edition of Fruit Attraction, which will be held from 18 to 20 October at IFEMA.
The event will host a technical seminar ‘The pomegranate, prospects of an emerging fruit’ as part of the Fresh’N’Star programme, a new addition to this year’s fair.
This meeting, organised by the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin, in collaboration with FEPEX and Fruit Attraction, will be held on Wednesday, 18 October 10:00 to 12:00 in the Fruit Forum 9 space.
It will draw attention to the pomegranate boom of recent years and the secrets to improving the product, the different varieties of pomegranate, differential quality, its presence at the point of sale, and how to keep this fruit looking attractive to guarantee profits.
All of this will be addressed from four viewpoints: market research, marketing and the experience of the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin.
Juan F. Jiménez FESA UK LTD will give a presentation that will analyse “The UK pomegranate market', Julian Bartual Martos, director of the Experimental Agriculture Station of Elche (CAMACCDR), will talk about the quality alternatives offered by different varieties and questions arising from field to market; while the presentation by David Bernardo Lopez Lluch, professor of the Polytechnic School of Orihuela of the Miguel Hernández University, will tackle the use of sensory pomegranate marketing.
The event will be opened by Francisco Rodriguez Mulero, Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Autonomous Region of Valencia, Antonio García, Elche’s municipal Councillor for the Environment and Countryside, and the president and quality manager of the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin, Francisco Oliva and Maricén Molina, respectively.
According production and geographic data published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, Food and the Environment (MAGRAMA), Spain produces more than 53,000 tons of pomegranates on an area of more than 5,000 hectares.
More than 75% of Spain’s pomegranates are grown the area known as the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin, which encompasses 40 municipal areas in three districts in southern Alicante (Vega Baja, Bajo Vinalopó y Alacantí). The other pomegranate production areas are mainly in Murcia, Andalusia, Catalonia, the Canary Island and Extremadura.
Spain is Europe’s leading pomegranate producer and the world’s biggest producer of the mollar de Elche variety.
Between 60% and 70% of this fruit is exported, mainly to Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Emerging markets include countries in the Persian Gulf and South-East Asia.
Spain was granted the Mollar Pomegranate from Elche Protected Designation of Origin in 2016. This variety of pomegranate is sweet, with soft, edible pips. The skin varies from cream to deep red, depending on how long the fruit is allowed to ripen on the tree.