Motherly love produces sweet jujube crop for grower near regional Victorian city of Mildura
Mick Costa says the jujube has been his best crop. (ABC News: Timu King)
In short:
A north west Victorian grower planted a jujube crop in memory of his mother, and has been surprised at the success of the relatively unknown fruit.
There is strong demand within Australia, particularly from Asian customers.
What's next?
Larger plantations are eyeing the export market as jujube trees mature and productivity increases.
A regional Victorian grower's tribute to his mum has become the most successful venture of his life.
Mildura grower Mick Costa's mother grew up in Italy and would fondly recall a small sweet fruit — the jujube.
Jujubes come in various sizes, have a sweet-tart flavour and are often compared to apples.
The fruit, which is also known as a Chinese date, is thought to have originated in south-west Asia and comes from one of the oldest cultivated fruit trees in the world.
It was only after moving to regional Victoria that Mr Costa encountered the fruit again — and in memory of his mother planted several trees.
Jujubes grow well in Mildura's hot, sunny climate. (Supplied: Jujubes Australia)
Now, Mr Costa said if he had his time again he would pursue the fruit more aggressively.
"I've been in several industries, I've done grapes, I've done vegetables, construction as well … tried a lot of things, and the most successful has been these jujubes," he said.
"For the love of my mother, I wanted to have a look at jujubes and it's the best thing I ever done in my life."
Mr Costa said the "honey-sweet" fruit was easy to grow and he was surprised it was not more popular in Sunraysia.
"They're very easy to grow, the only time they require work is during picking — which you don't mind, that's when the money comes in," he said.
"Other than that, I give them a prune which is much easier than vines and that's it.
"As far as spraying goes, there are no diseases we worry about, we only spray for fruit fly."
Jujubes are like a cross between an apple and a nashi pear. (ABC Landline: Kerry Staight)
Mr Costa said there was strong domestic demand for jujubes in Australia.
"There's a lot of Asians in Australia now, so the demand for them is there," he said.
"If you had a volume, you could also export them.
"If I was 20 years younger, I'd go and whack in 50 acres or 100 acres, because I've been asked if I'd pick some for export."
Strong domestic demand
In 2023, Australia's largest producer of kiwi fruit and nashi pears, Seeka Australia, took a bet on the jujube — planting 40,000 trees near Shepparton in Victoria.
Jonathan Van Popering says harvesting is the most expensive part of jujubes. (ABC Landline: Kerry Staight)
Seeka Australia general manager of operations Jonathan Van Popering said the trees had been a worthwhile investment.
"Demand has been pretty strong, last year was probably one of our best years," he said.
"We had great fruit quality and sold through really well — no issues at all.
"Jujubes price better than our kiwifruit, nashi, or stone fruit. We're definitely satisfied with where it sits."
Jujube trees grow quickly and within about a year are ready for harvesting. (ABC Landline: Kerry Staight)
Mr Van Popering said as the trees mature and produce more fruit Seeka Australia would consider its options.
"We're investigating export markets and expect to export some fruit this coming season, we haven't exported yet simply because of the low volumes," he said.
"Local demand has been really strong, so we haven't needed to; as volumes increase, we'll start looking outward to hit the price points we need."