Any grower in South Africa is free to send apples to China as long as they have registered and have the correct certifications.
Jacques du Preez from Hortgro said, all going well, the first shipments will start in January 2015, in line with the export season for South African apples, "As with any new market, we will most likely start off slowly and build up the volumes."
The varieties being shipped will most likely be Royal Gala, Fuji and Granny Smiths. Du Preez said that China would not be an easy market as they already produce huge volumes of apples domestically.
He hopes that now that everything is in place China will soon be open to pears as well, "Most of the growers who are already registered for apples also produce pears."
As for volumes, South Africa should see a normal production this year after an off year last season. "We will most likely send a bit less to Europe due to the abundance on the market already because of high European production and the Russian ban, but the volumes to the UK should be back to normal after being down last season due to Chile’s abundance of small fruit."
"Africa is also a growing market so we will send more there too." Russia is also open to South African exporters but Du Preez does not expect exports there to significantly increase.
For more information:Jacques du Preez
HORTGRO
Eamil: jacques@hortgro.co.za
Tel: +27 82 864 8149