Retailing for as much as $2,000 per pound and with seedlings selling between $2,000 and $3,000 each, dragon fruit is emerging as one of the country’s most promising high-value exotic crops, with growers reporting rising consumer demand, which they expect to catapult even further in the coming years.

Although still cultivated on a relatively small scale, the brightly coloured cactus fruit is steadily moving beyond novelty status as more Jamaicans discover its flavour, nutritional benefits and commercial potential. Farmers have said that growing consumer awareness is also translating into repeat purchases that could eventually position the crop as a viable export commodity if production expands.

For Manchester-based farmer Natalie Curtis, who has spent the last three years cultivating more than 20 dragon fruit varieties, the industry remains in its infancy but is gathering momentum.

“More people are catching on, but I think dragon fruit’s popularity will become much more widespread as more Jamaicans taste it for the first time,” Curtis said in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer.

She said interest among farmers is also increasing, with growers across several parishes quietly establishing plantings.

“Some people are very secretive because they want to keep the market for themselves…but there are definitely more people getting involved,” she noted, while crediting colleague farmer and mentor Nigel Clarke, who she said has been selfless in helping her with her own planting endeavours.

Unlike many traditional fruit crops, the local farmer said dragon fruit is well suited to Jamaica’s climate because it is a cactus species capable of thriving in hot, dry conditions.

“It grew in the desert in Israel, so there aren’t really any specific parishes where it has to be grown,” Curtis noted.

Having started with container-grown plants at her home, she is now propagating additional plants to establish commercial production on her farm in St Elizabeth.

The crop’s limited supply has helped sustain premium prices locally. Curtis currently sells her fruit for about $1,500 per pound, while noting that supermarket prices range between $1,700 and $2,000 per pound.

Despite the premium price tag, she said demand for the fruit continues to strengthen and could become as popular as other exotics such as strawberry and lychee.

“Most of my customers are first-time buyers, but they’re coming back for more. They usually start with one pound, then ask for two pounds and also want to try different varieties,” she said.

Her customers currently include health-conscious consumers, families with young children and people simply curious about the exotic fruit after hearing about its health benefits.

One customer, she recalled, began purchasing dragon fruit only after discovering during a family vacation to Mexico, that it helped relieve her daughter’s digestive issues.

“They came back looking specifically for dragon fruit because it worked wonders for the child,” Curtis said.

Nutrition experts have increasingly highlighted dragon fruit’s health benefits, noting that it is rich in dietary fibre, antioxidants and vitamin C, while also containing carotenoids and lycopene compounds associated with improved heart health and reduced inflammation.

From a commercial standpoint, one of the crop’s greatest advantages is also its extended production cycle.

Unlike mangoes and many other seasonal fruits that produce one crop annually, the dragon fruit flowers and fruits repeatedly throughout the growing season. Curtis said her plants begin producing as early as May and continue up to November in successive phases.

“One crop finishes and another one starts shortly afterwards, so growers can have three, four or even more harvests during a single season,” she said, adding that production increases significantly once plants mature. Her third year of cultivation has so far been the most productive.

The fruit offering considerable diversity sees hundreds of varieties being cultivated worldwide. It also lends itself to cross-breeding— allowing farmers to develop new varieties with different colours, flavours and production characteristics.

Curtis currently grows more than 20 varieties, ranging from white-fleshed to deep red cultivars, with the red-fleshed fruit proving at present to be the most popular among consumers.

Internationally, dragon fruit ranges from pink-skinned varieties with white, red, pink or purple flesh to the highly sought-after yellow-skinned type, regarded as the sweetest of all.

Consumers often describe its flavour as a blend of kiwi, melon and pear, while its texture resembles kiwi because of its tiny edible black seeds. It is commonly eaten chilled but is also used in smoothies, salads, desserts, cocktails, and seafood dishes.

Curtis believes greater public awareness will be key to expanding the local market.

Aside from being consumed as a fruit, dragon fruit can also be used in smoothies, salads, desserts, cocktails and seafood dishes.

“A lot of people still don’t know what it is. Once they taste it, they realise it’s refreshing and not overly sweet,” she said.

Looking beyond the domestic market, she believes Jamaica has a realistic opportunity to build-out a competitive export industry.

The island’s proximity to North America, she reasoned, provides a natural advantage over major Asian producers whose fruit is often harvested before full maturity to withstand long shipping times.

“If we can harvest our fruit later, when it’s properly mature, and get it quickly into North America, we would have a better product,” she said.

Pointing to Trinidad’s expanding commercial dragon fruit industry as an example, Curtis believes Jamaica could achieve similar success with stronger institutional support. She is urging agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Invest to help expand planting material, promote consumer education and encourage commercial investment.

“I’d like to see more people producing it and for it to become more available in supermarkets and markets across Jamaica. The demand is there, and once more people know about it, that demand will only continue to grow,” she said.

A 1.5 pound dragon fruit harvested by Curtis

One of Curtis’s more than 20 varieties of dragon fruit plants grown in her backyard

Manchester dragon fruit farmer Natalie Curtis