Carob making its mark in SA's upper north

Carob has a unique smell - actually it's hard to pinpoint.

It's not commonly grown in in Australia; it's more a Middle-Eastern crop.

It is a species of flowering evergreen shrub or tree in the pea family Fabaceae, and is widely cultivated for its edible legumes and as an ornamental tree in gardens.

One South Australian man has made it his bread and butter, becoming the largest grower and processor of carob in Australia.

Michael Jolley, Australian Carob Company

Michael Jolley was once a humble gardener, but now grows 6,000 trees outside Booberowie, located north-west of Burra in South Australia's upper north.

"I've been a gardener for 20 years, and I was looking around at different trees to grow.

"That was 13 years ago, and I went into growing carob as it grew well around the area."

On his 30-hectare block he grows and processes all his carob on farm.

"We didn't want to get any contamination in our products because cross-contamination is a big issue in other parts of the world where it's been kibbled one place, roasted at another, milled somewhere else and packed somewhere else.

"We wanted everything on farm.

"We're the only ones in the world that wash our carob prior to processing too."

Carob flowering in South Australia's upper north

At the moment he produces 60 to 80 tonnes of carob, but in five years he hopes to be producing 600 tonnes a year - 100 kilograms per tree.

Since starting the company 13 years ago the business has grown 330 per cent, but he's got way too much produce for the Australian market and needs to develop more overseas interest.
"We're producing more than what the market demands.

"We need to offload 30 to 40 tonne overseas now; and in five years, 600 tonne.

"That's a lot of carob that we need to sell to both overseas and domestic markets."

Source: ABC News, 3 October 2013