Onions top performer for Koue Bokkeveld farm, despite drought

Amid the other unavoidable aspects of the Western Cape’s severe drought, Koue Bokkeveld topfruit and onion producer De Keur has received one unexpected, pleasant surprise: on approximately 65% of a normal year’s onion acreage, they have taken off 80 to 85% of the normal production this season. 

Brown onions from this area obtain a premium on the markets and supermarket groups seek out their brown onions, both for its appearance and its shelf life. It was widely expected that there’d be a countrywide shortage of onions as news started coming out last year of the upcoming season’s Korkom plantings and farmers to the north readied themselves to fill the gap – but not much of a gap appeared because when Koue Bokkeveld farmers cut back on onion plantings, they retained their optimal soils and optimal plants, with optimal irrigation.

Due to the good yields, the onion market was fuller than anticipated, when onion producers had expected less volumes and higher prices, but the market has just started picking up its head again, says Cathrine Smuts, marketing manager at De Keur, with a 10kg bag at the moment at around R54 to R60 (€3.7 to € 4.11) – compare that to the R34 to R38 (€2.33 to €2.6) of last year.

It is just as well, because there is a significant drop in topfruit volumes, generally at 20%, she estimates, despite cutting down some orchards (whose demise was hastened, not necessarily precipitated, by the drought) and putting others on a meagre water ration, foregoing first-time harvests on some young orchards in some instances.

 

De Keur has just over 400ha of apples and pears, 200ha of onions most years, rounded out by 35ha of stonefruit (not marketed by themselves) and an initial 10ha of blueberries, destined to increase fivefold over the next couple of years. Onions are planted on a four year rotation cycle (onion fields lie mostly fallow in-between plantings), bringing the total acreage of the five farming units making up De Keur to 6,100ha.

“It’s a tough season, in terms of fruit both volume and size-wise, and the exchange rate is having a big effect,” says Cathrine. “Unfortunately, a lot of a producer’s inputs were bought in foreign currency when the exchange rate was weak and now that you start selling, the Rand is stronger.”

 

The pear harvest is over, Forelle did the best volume-wise (though size-wise down) in a year where most pears had a decline in volumes and were small, and packout percentages weren’t bad. “The Middle East takes small pears and there are many small pears,” she says. “The Middle East is consequently quite full and the price is under a lot of pressure.”

Germany and Belgium, traditionally strong markets for bi-coloured pears, prefer single layer cartons for bi-coloured pears (other pears are taken in 12.6kg cartons) but the cost of packing material has a big influence on the decisions regarding the financial viability of those markets. The cost of the single layer preferred there is double that of packing materials for the Far East and Middle East, plus one can only pack 16t in a container with single layer cartons, compared to 22t in a container for the Far and Middle East.

 

Germany and Belgium usually take counts 45 up to 80, but since large-size pears are in short supply this season, those markets could run a bit short on South African pears this season. 

Africa takes 80% of De Keur’s export Goldens these days. Years ago South Africa sent more Goldens elsewhere in the world, but as the African market gained in strength, trade was redirected there – at that stage Africa paid almost double what South African Goldens could earn elsewhere.

“We don’t see much of an improvement in Africa this year, prices are still a lot under what they were two or three years ago. About three or four years ago you could easily get R240 to R250 [€16.45 to €17.13] for a 18.25kg box of nice Goldens, now it’s R200 to R220 [€13.7 to €15.08], if you’re lucky. The price on red apples has stabilised a bit, it’s about R220 [€15.08] to R240 [€16.45]. As an industry we have to start looking for new places for our Goldens. You look if you can send some to the East, if you can find some programmes in the UK, or one or two containers to Europe, but especially to the East – of course, you have to be able to compete with European Goldens on price there at a certain time of the year.”

“The Indian Ocean islands are very good for us,” she continues. “Réunion likes big fruit, and red fruit, and Mauritius is a fantastic market for us because they draw small fruit. The strong tourism and hospitality industry on the island drives strong demand for fruit.”

Top Red (and its poorer colour variety Starking) is another cultivar that is locally produced for mostly African trade.

Despite the drought, they remain optimistic and plan ahead for the coming season as if normal rainfall will return. Expansion is in the pipeline on Royal Gala, which thrives in this area and a good apple to have in your basket, and Pink Lady (they look back with satisfaction at their early adoption of the Rosy Glow strain, making up 85% of their Pink Lady portfolio), and on Packhams.

And cherries, with which the Dutoits group has such success with Zaiger Genetics cultivars around here, are on their list, for delivery to Dutoits’ Cherrytime brand.

For the moment harvesting and packing are continuing apace in Ceres, but the packing season will probably come to an earlier end and the employment period of contract workers’ shortened due to less volume.

For more information:

Cathrine Smuts

Tel: +27 23 315 5603

Email: cathrine@dekeur.co.za