Great Britain
200 euros for a fruit: jackfruit hype drives up prices
The hype surrounding jackfruit is currently driving up prices
© Herwin Bahar/ / Picture Alliance
A picture of a jackfruit is currently circulating on Twitter. The fruit is said to cost an incredible 200 euros. What makes jackfruit so expensive.
In the past few weeks, a picture has been circulating among Brazilian Twitter users. A jackfruit can be seen at Borough Market, one of the largest and oldest food markets in London. The fruit, which is very popular among vegetarians and vegans, is said to cost the equivalent of 200 euros. The post has been shared nearly 100,000 times.
Why does this recording amuse Brazilians so much? Fresh jackfruit can be bought in many parts of Brazil for the equivalent of one euro each. They are similarly affordable in many other tropical countries. In many places they can even be easily plucked from the trees, but many just rot on the street. At least in Brazil. Many Twitter users are poking fun at it, joking that they are flying to the UK to become “multi-millionaires” by selling jackfruit.
Jackfruits serve as a meat substitute
So how can a jackfruit be so expensive in Europe? As always, demand determines supply and jackfruit is currently very popular as a meat substitute. The flesh of a ripe jackfruit tastes like a sweet mixture of papaya, banana and mango. The unripe jackfruit, on the other hand, is whitish on the inside and tastes like an artichoke. When cooked, the flesh takes on the slightly fibrous texture of chicken.
In addition, the jackfruit cannot be grown in colder latitudes – and in general: the cultivation is difficult to calculate. According to experts, the international trade in the fruit is quite complex and risky, partly because of its perishability, seasonality and volume. With a weight of up to 40 kilograms, the fruit from Asia is extremely perishable and only has a short shelf life in the supermarket. If a jackfruit is too ripe, it becomes useless as a meat substitute. Therefore, many resort to canned or packaged fruit, which costs between four and five euros.
Difficult to transport
“The jackfruit is very heavy, it ripens very quickly, and it has a very peculiar aroma that not everyone finds pleasant,” Sabrina Sartori, general manager of Estancia das Frutas, a 3,000-fruit plantation in the state of Sao Paulo, told the BBC. According to the expert, the price of jackfruit varies even in Brazil. “There are places where you can pick it from the tree for free. In others, it’s extremely expensive.”
Packing is also difficult due to the irregular shape, size and weight. It cannot be packed in standard sized crates like other fruits. There are safe methods to determine the degree of maturity based on the appearance alone. “Many fruits from regions like Asia and South America arrive in Europe on passenger planes. Airlines are now looking for higher value-added products for the cargo hold. Jackfruit is a perishable and niche product, so it’s not worth importing in bulk. All this drives up the final price,” says Fabrizio Torres, owner of Torres Tropical BV, an exotic fruit importer based in the Netherlands, to the BBC.
However, despite all the obstacles, current studies assume that the international market for jackfruit will expand. According to estimates by the consulting company IndustryARC, it should reach a market volume of 320 million euros by 2026.