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Pumpkin market

Confusing information on the pumpkin market

Admittedly, it is not easy to battle your way through the mass of often complex information about pumpkin seeds – especially when seen in a global context.

However, people should always be aware of the reliability and content of that information. Only then can the correct decisions be made for the long term. The amount of “fake news” swirling round in the ether at present is certainly remarkable and unprecedented. In some cases, players in the market are being deliberately wrongly informed, in others the writers simply do not have the necessary knowledge. Examples include mixing up information about the places of origin of the seed stock and the pumpkin seeds, and presenting an incorrect picture of how pumpkins are produced on farms. This represents an attack on the honest operators in the Austrian pumpkin seed oil industry.


We would like to give you the following information:
The volume of the 2018 harvest and stocks in Austria, Europe and China give grounds for optimism that supplies will last out until the 2019 harvest.

But is it really so simple? No, it isn’t! You have to ask yourself whether the available quality meets the standards of the industry and consumers, and, above all, whether that availability – and consistent quality – can be guaranteed throughout the period of the contract.

The volume of the Shine Skin and GWS harvests in China will be considerably reduced due to the smaller area under cultivation. This year’s harvest of GWS is expected to be only 5,000 tonnes. With the average demand in recent years being about 12,000 tonnes per season, the difference can only be made up by using produce from previous harvests. Technically, therefore, in terms of quantity, availability can be guaranteed.

So supply and demand are kept in balance. The fact is, however, that the growing area in China will have to increase again for the 2019 harvest, otherwise it will not be possible to meet the demand in the coming season. However, to achieve this growth in volume next year, the prices paid to farmers will have to rise. The situation in Europe is very similar. It is essential to be very far-sighted and position ourselves accordingly.

Manfred Feistritzer
Management Global Trade

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Traditional Styrian
stamp press process

While modernity has brought progress in many areas, the traditional Styrian stamp press process is still the best way of making pumpkin seed oil. The main difference between this and other pressing methods is that we work with open roasting pans. At our plant, people check when the pumpkin seeds are perfectly roasted and so will yield the very best oil. This enables our experienced oil millers to produce the pumpkin seed oil that has won more prizes than any other – and which as a result of this type of pressing retains all the natural constituents. The untreated oil is not filtered; the particles that make it cloudy settle naturally when the oil is left to rest.

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