The European Community imports most of it's requirements from Israel, with lesser quantities from Brazil and Chile. The production of persimmons has increased from less than 500 t in 1980 to over 4,000 t in 1988. The area planted in 1988 exceeded 600 ha, most of which was in California. The recent expansion of American production has been based on non-astringent cultivars, in particular Fuyu. Harvesting extends from early October to mid December.
Most production is consumed domestically.
Los Angeles is the major wholesale market. Small quantities have been exported to destinations such as South-East Asia and Australia. Quarantine barriers to countries which host fruit flies have been imposed. In 1991 production totalled 1,880 t, of which 196 t were exported to Japan, and 173 t to Singapore. Most of the current production is from the non-astringent cv.