A comprehensive industrialization of the processing of the pomegranate fruit. The key to its economic viability

The past 10 years have witnessed major changes in the pomegranate industry. Specifically, a worldwide significant increase in the pomegranate planted area, an increase in fruit production, an increase in export quantities and an increase in the stored and processed fruit. Two factors are primarily responsible for these changes: (i) an increasing demand for the pomegranate fruit driven by a substantial body of published results of research on the characteristics of the pomegranate fruit, suggesting that the fruit has both, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, helping reduce the risk of prostate cancer and artery plaque. And (ii), the unique development of a machine for automatic extraction of the arils, thus, facilitating the use of ready–to-eat arils and/or development of various postharvest processing lines, such as juice and wine production and development of various pharmaceutical and nutraceutical and cosmetic products derived from the arils kernels. While the current increase in fruit production continues and more “players” are joining in, there is no guarantee that the economic viability of the pomegranate industry is ensured. In fact, past experience have shown that if increased production is not matched by a similar increase in demand, prices of the fruit are liable to come down; competition will increase; small growers will be forced out of business and we shall witness (as seen in the past) uprooting of existing orchards with declined economy. The pomegranate industry is still undergoing a process of evolution from specialty to commercial crop. Thus, to ensure its sustained economy, a system approach has to be adopted addressing all the factors associated with the industrialization of the processing. Unfortunately, many growers do not even make use of existing technologies and do not initiate R and D to develop new processing technologies addressing the unique characteristics of the pomegranate fruit. Thus, for example, the arils extracting machine is yet not fully commercialized. Likewise, the unique freezing technology is still not fully utilized and very little is done to develop commercial products from the various components of the fruit, such as: the arils, the rind, the arils kernels and the juice. The potential is high, but unless a system approach is adopted,the fruit will remain a minor crop globally