YELLO® arrives to Australia

7 February 2020

yello®, the innovative Club apple produced in South Tyrol – Südtirol by the VOG and VIP consortia, exclusive European growers, has announced a broad expansion programme at Fruit Logistica.

In Berlin the South Tyrolean consortia which own the rights to the brand have signed a sub-license agreement with Montague Australia for the cultivation of Shinano Gold. In attendance to celebrate this important milestone were the Chairman of the VOG Consortium Georg Kössler, the Chairman of VIP Thomas Oberhofer, representatives of Montague Australia, Scott Montague and Rowan Little, and Gerhard Dichgans, in charge of the project on behalf of the two South Tyrolean companies.

“For now the sub-license has established an area of 25 hectares - explains Georg Kössler, who spoke on behalf of VOG and VIP – with the option of expanding it up to 50 hectares, with the products destined exclusively for the Australian domestic market for the time being.”

“The tests carried out in Australia produced very positive results – comments Scott Montague of the company Montague in the state of Victoria/Australia – the area in which we planted the first trees has proved to be particularly compatible with the cultivation of this premium variety. This is why we have signed this sub-license agreement with VOG/VIP: we will now be able to produce the first yello® apples also in Australia”

As part of an extended testing agreement signed with the Nagano Prefecture in Japan, additional Shinano Gold trees will be planted in the US and South Africa. The tests will be carried out in collaboration with Columbia Fruit Packers and McDougall & Sons, two companies from Wenatchee in Washington State/USA, and Fruitways Farming, a company from Elgin/South Africa, three historic VIP and VOG partners in the International Pomefruit Alliance (IPA).
 
“This new apple has all the potential to change the yellow apple segment: its slightly exotic and tropical aroma, together with its crunchy and juicy flesh, are in line with the needs of the modern consumer - underlines Gerhard Dichgans, who elaborated the agreement on behalf of VIP and VOG – We have already registered the yello® brand in over 60 countries and this year we will start taking concrete steps to expand its horizons at global level.”

The variety marketed under the yello® brand is called Shinano Gold and was developed during a breeding programme at the Nagano Research Centre in the Nagano Prefecture, Japan by crossing the Golden Delicious with the Senshu.

yello® has a bright yellow skin, a firm consistency and a sweet, crisp, juicy heart. It also has excellent shelf life and impressively constant quality. It was launched on the Italian market in November 2016.

Thanks to the agreement with the Nagano Prefecture, the exclusive worldwide production and marketing licence belongs to VOG, the Consortium of South Tyrolean Fruit Growers’ Cooperatives, and to VIP, the Association of Val Venosta Fruit Growers’ Cooperatives.

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