Following a recent visit to the continent as part of the Under 40s Fruit Growers conference, Selchuk Kurtev, IPM manager at Certis, explains how South African growers are managing the GLOBALG.A.P and embracing new farming techniques to meet the needs of this important market in Europe.
“Many top fruit growers in SA find the export market for their crops much more profitable than internal trade,” explains Mr Kurtev. “However, there are strict regulations and guidelines to be met within every country of export, including the UK.
“The internal market in SA is flooded with lower quality crops and high competition. SA growers can produce double the yields of those in the UK, and in some cases, up to 80-90 t/Ha as is the case with apples. Whereas the export market has higher standards, there is less competition and the returns can be much more attractive.”
A challenging climate
However, meeting the needs of the UK market is not without its challenges, Mr Kurtev explains.
“The continent experiences scorching sun and high winds and skin burn is a big problem for growers, causing damage to the fruit, which renders it unsuitable for export to the UK. In some years growers have lost up to 15 percent of their yield.
“However, the undulating landscape also allows for lower temperatures, and ‘micro-climates’ have formed,” he says. “As a result, they also experience frost, and in fact we visited an orchard that had been frosted.”
These micro-climates allow for producers to grow different fruit varieties to match the environment. Producers have capitalised on this by growing fruits that require a lower temperature in colder locations to achieve the chilling unit’s requirements, therefore not needing the use of expensive cooling units.
The GLOBALG.A.P
Overcoming the GLOBALG.A.P is also a major challenge. Being the world’s leading farm assurance programme, it is aimed at helping growers around the globe to comply with varying standards across multiple countries.
It allows growers to export their produce more easily between continents, but also creates compliance challenges with its rigorous certification criteria.
“To export to the EU, SA producers must use plant protection products that are approved in the country of destination, however, strict universal regulations can create an additional barrier,” Mr Kurtev explains.
“As a result, more growers are embracing Integrated Crop Management (ICM), using micro-biologicals and bio-pesticides to manage pests and diseases. Using biorational products helps them to overcome some of the challenges, as these products are more environmentally friendly and don’t have as many restrictions against them.”
Similarly, fruit size grown in SA is generally much larger than its UK counterparts. With class one and two apples being significantly larger, many would be rejected in the UK, or sent for juicing, Mr Kurtev explains.
“SA has up to 54 grades of apple, so to utilise the full capacity of their produce, growers have adapted to accept a lower price for ‘out-grade’ crop, which they can sell to a less stringent UK market.”
Brexit
As with the UK agricultural sector, Brexit has triggered uncertainty for the top fruit sector in SA.
“With the weakening of the pound, many producers have lost considerable revenue. Quotas for exporting were agreed over 12 months ago, and growers have lost the profits which they had forecast,” explains Mr Kurtev.
“As a result, growers have had to adapt, focusing on exporting to the wider European market, which has improved since Brexit, until the UK market improves. Every grower we visited was hoping for the pound to get stronger, then it will be viable for them to export to the UK again.”
Cross-farm learning
“When visiting farms, it was evident that the growers were talking to each other regularly, and considered themselves part of one big community,” he explains.
“For example, many producers are experiencing problems with Mediterranean fruit fly. To combat this they’re releasing the infertile male Med fly, from helicopters to try to break the cycle.
“The use of these helicopters is an industry supported initiative, involving multiple growers, and servicing several farms at a time.
“I think there’s an opportunity for working more collaboratively like this in the defence against pests and diseases in the horticultural sector, not just in South Africa, but in the UK and globally.”
For more information:
Beth Dixon
Pinstone Communications
Tel: +44 01568 617665
Mob: +44 07464 936 342
beth@pinstone.co.uk
www.pinstone.co.uk