IF YOU’VE never heard of jackfruit perhaps now is the time to get acquainted.
While currently a niche market and worth around $2 million annually, domestic demand for the fruit is on the up and major players in Australia’s R&D agricultural sector are taking notice.
AgriFutures Australia have invested almost $1 million into a project that will investigate ready to market jackfruit products.
Its Emerging Industries senior manager Dr Olivia Reynolds said the fruit had been identified as a priority for investment and research.
She said market demand for value added products like jackfruit was high.
“Jackfruit is a fruit which is realising expansion of plantings in Australia as a result of strong market demand for fresh and value-added products,” she said.
“Our research will look at the process of developing ready to market jackfruit products for Australian market.
“The aim is to provide opportunity for the Australian jackfruit industry to grow through the development of commercially viable processed products.”
Dr Reynolds said the project would work with growers, processors and retailers to try to build the supply chain from the ground up.
“We will focus on the development of three processed jackfruit product to build a processed jackfruit market which will enable Australian growers to increase their plantings or divert excess fruit when the fresh fruit market becomes overwhelmed,” she said.