Loquats are a delicious fruit that many people enjoy eating fresh off the tree. However, you’ll almost never find loquats for sale at your local supermarket or grocery store. There’s a very good reason for this – loquats are far too delicate to withstand the rough handling of commercial distribution and transportation networks.
The Delicate Nature of Loquats
The delicate nature of loquats is the primary reason you won’t see them stocked on store shelves. Loquats have thin, easily bruised skin that gets damaged very easily. Even just picking loquats off the tree requires a gentle touch to avoid bruising them. Once damaged the fruits quickly start to decay.
This fragility makes loquats a poor candidate for transport to far away markets. They simply wouldn’t survive the rough truck rides drops and knocks involved in commercial shipping and distribution. As soon as the first bruise occurred, it would start a chain reaction of decay that would ruin an entire batch of loquats.
Supermarkets and grocery stores need to stock produce that can endure transportation over long distances. Fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas have thicker skins and are less susceptible to bruising during transport. This allows them to arrive at stores in good condition for customers to purchase. Loquats, on the other hand, would just turn into a big mushy mess before making it into your shopping cart.
Short Shelf Life
Even if loquats could somehow miraculously arrive at supermarkets unbruised, they still wouldn’t last long enough on the shelves to be worth selling. Loquats have an extremely short shelf life, especially compared to many other fruits.
Their delicate flesh starts to deteriorate rapidly after being picked from the tree. Kept refrigerated, loquats may last around 5 days maximum before they start to mold and rot. Other fruits like apples and citrus can stay fresh in storage for weeks or even months.
From a business perspective, it simply doesn’t make sense for stores to spend money stocking a product that goes bad so quickly. The transportation costs to ship the loquats combined with the waste from spoilage would far outweigh any potential profits from their sale. Customers would be disappointed to constantly find mushy, spoiled loquats on the shelf.
Difficult to Cultivate Commercially
There are some practical difficulties with growing loquats commercially on the scale needed to supply grocery stores. Loquat trees flourish best in subtropical climates. Attempting large-scale loquat orchards in non-ideal environments brings additional challenges.
Loquat trees also have somewhat unpredictable cropping patterns. They tend to produce heavy crops only in alternate years. This irregular yield would make it hard for growers to consistently supply enough fresh loquats year after year to meet commercial needs.
Processing loquats into jams, juices, or other products could potentially help get around some of these issues. However, there simply isn’t enough consumer demand for loquat products to drive large-scale commercial processing.
Best Suited for Local Consumption
Given all the obstacles to wider distribution, loquats are best suited for small-scale, local consumption. Backyard gardeners who have their own loquat trees can enjoy the harvest fresh off the branch. The short travel from tree to table avoids any bruising or deterioration issues.
Purchasing loquats from local farmers markets is another good option. Farmers are able to carefully pick the ripe fruits and transport them quickly to be sold directly to customers. This avoids the need for long-distance shipping to stores.
Connecting with local enthusiasts is also a great way to find loquats. Talk to neighbors, gardening clubs, or community groups to locate nearby loquat trees. People are often happy to share the bounty from their backyard orchards.
Enjoy Loquats When You Can
Loquats may not be readily available in stores, but that makes enjoying them feel like even more of a special seasonal treat. Their sweet, tangy flavor is worth seeking out from local sources when they hit peak ripeness in spring.
Part of the fun is going on a loquat hunt to find your own secret harvesting spots. Get out and explore your neighborhood, chat with green-thumbed locals, and keep an eye out for roadside loquat trees. The treasure hunt to track down these delicious, delicate fruits makes eating loquats even more satisfying.
So while you won’t see loquats for sale alongside the apples and oranges at your supermarket, don’t let their commercial scarcity stop you. Instead embrace loquats as the ephemeral seasonal delight that they are. Savor them fully when you can find them locally and in season. Let their fleeting availability make stumbling upon loquats feel like a sweet treat to cherish.
How to Harvest & Store Sweet, Ripe Loquats Every Single Time
FAQ
Why don’t they sell loquats?
What are the side effects of loquat fruit?
Why is loquat so expensive?
What states do loquats grow in?
Are loquats profitable?
Loquats bruise easily and have a relatively short shelf life, rendering them near impossible to find in commercial grocery stores. They grow reliably with little maintenance, but harvesting and storage require a gentle touch. Commercial loquat production in the United States is (sadly) not lucrative because of these factors.
Where can I buy loquat?
Look for them at farmer’s markets in and near those areas. On the East Coast, loquats are also imported from Spain and you can sometimes find them at fancy Italian greengrocers at $4 to $8 per pound. Fresh from the tree, the loquat is juicy, sweet, and bursting with juice and flavor.
Are loquats fresh?
The season is short too, only lasting until the beginning of summer. Unfortunately, fresh loquats are a very delicate fruit that don’t hold up well to shipping, so odds are you won’t be able to find it fresh unless they’re grown locally to you. Even then, they won’t appear in any mainstream grocery store.
Are loquats rare?
Fresh from the tree, the loquat is juicy, sweet, and bursting with juice and flavor. But it’s so delicate and decays so quickly that it’s rarely shipped to commercial markets. Loquats are labor-intensive to grow, pick and pack; they’re subject to blights, birds and bats. Loquats may be rare, but they’re really worth looking for.