Willie Beets, Seven Seas-South Africa
"Every new season comes with new challenges and new opportunities,"
The 2014-2015 table grape crop from South Africa was bigger and earlier than the previous year. This, in addition to strong competition from other table grape producing countries such as India, is expected to result in lower overall market prices than realized last season. The latter part of the 2014-2015 season has seen some improvement due to limitations on exports from India caused by adverse weather.
The 2015 South African apple crop is expected to be significantly higher than in 2014, and the season is almost 2 weeks earlier than last year. Competition from other southern hemisphere apple producing countries is also anticipated to be strong as they anticipate increased production.
The 2015 South African pear crop is expected to be slightly down on 2014. Carryover stocks in Europe are still high so this may result in early season pressure on prices in Europe.
Early indications for the forthcoming citrus season out of South Africa are that the fruit sizing will be on the smaller sizes in certain areas that have been affected by the recent drought. This, together with potential limitations of supply to Russia due to new labeling requirements, may put pressure on markets which accept smaller sized fruit as well as black spot fruit such as the Middle East region.
"Every new season comes with new challenges and indeed new opportunities," says Willie Beets, General Manager of Seven Seas-South Africa. "We have a dedicated team of professionals and it is our job to connect our growers from the field to the table in a fast and efficient manner. It's just something we have always done and something We will continue to do," says Beets.
Established in 2011, Seven Seas-South Africa is a proud member of the Tom Lange Family of Companies in the United States of America, a group which has been in the produce business for 55 years. Seven Seas exports fresh produce from South Africa to approximately 33 countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and Africa/Indian Ocean islands.
Greg Reinauer, President of Tom Lange Company, comments, “as a truly global produce network, we are constantly looking for opportunities to expand our network and Seven Seas in South Africa has and will continue to play a significant role in this effort.”
For more information:
Willie Beets
Seven Seas-South Africa
Tel: + 27 21 851 2098
Email: willie@sevenseasfruit.com