Bakersfield, California – Stonefruit growers and marketers from five continents convened here late last month to learn about new varieties, marketing strategies and best production practices at Sun World International’s second Stonefruit Expo. The Stonefruit Expo is part of Sun World’s fruit licensing program that involves more than 1,000 producers and leading marketing companies in most of the world’s major fruit-growing regions.
In late May, more than 40 international visitors toured Sun World’s Variety Development Center and commercial farms in California’s southern San Joaquin Valley where they saw dozens of new and existing varieties comprising the California produce company’s BLACK DIAMOND® brand plum, HONEYCOT® brand apricot and AMBER CREST® brand peach lines. The group also received an overview of Sun World’s global licensing program, participated in a technical review as well as a panel discussion on “marketing distinctive stonefruit during recessionary times.”
Growers, marketers and importers attended from Australia, Chile, China, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom. A few affiliated California grower-shippers also participated in the unique two day event. “This year’s Expo provided Sun World licensees from around the world to see the very latest early season advances from our fruit breeding program and gave them an opportunity to share ideas about fruit production and marketing unique varieties and brands on a global scale,” the company’s Variety Development Center Director Terry Bacon said.
Sun World’s stonefruit breeding efforts include a wide range of plums including several black skinned, red-flesh varieties marketed under the company’s renowned BLACK DIAMOND® brand, a broad line of black-skinned yellow-flesh plums marketed under the BLACK GIANT® brand, a series of early-ripening apricots distributed under the HONEYCOT® brand, and a line of early-ripening peaches and nectarines marketed under the AMBER CREST® and SUPER STAR® brands. Sun World’s California-based Variety Development Center has released dozens of stonefruit varieties, many of which are grown and sold in series under private trademarks and brands. These products complement Sun World’s line of seedless grapes which are produced and marketed under similar license arrangements around the world.
Sun World, a longstanding U.S.-based producer and marketer of fresh fruit, operates one of the world’s largest fruit breeding programs. Since its inception in the 1970s, the company’s Variety Development Center has released more than 80 new varieties with improved flavor, size, color, shelf-life and extended seasonality. In addition to production on its own California properties, Sun World and/or its licensees grow these proprietary varieties in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East and South Africa.
Sun World is a leading innovator in the research, production, distribution and promotion of fresh produce. The company maintains integrated agricultural operations throughout central and southeastern California.
Source: Sun World International, LLC