Australia: Pomegranate pioneers look to expand local consumption

What started as a project to test irrigation equipment in Australia ended with the first import of Israeli pomegranates by farmers Mare and Annette Goldstein. "At the time there were no agronomists or people in Australia who could advise you, so we had to go overseas to learn," Annette told ABC News. At first, because the fruit was not well known on the mainland, they didn't have many buyers, and "by the fourth year we were producing about 70 tons that we ended up giving away to other growers around here because we didn't know what to do with it," Mare said. Pomegranates are still considered an emerging industry in Australia, which has led the family of farmers to diversify their offering. At the Monato factory they package the whole fresh fruit, an industry they say has picked up since pomegranates started appearing on cooking shows. However, because of the fruit's short shelf life, unsold fruit is processed, with its juicy red seeds frozen or turned into juice. Other brands in ...