After years of drought, the Western Cape’s deciduous fruit harvest is looking much better. Industry and producer’s body, Hortgro, says 2020 was a much better winter. There was enough rain in most of the production areas, resulting in high quality, promising fruit.
The apple harvest is predicted to be 38 million cartons. Pears are expected to reach nearly 18 million cartons, which is an increase of 5%.
This is despite the strong winds witnessed last week, in the Grabouw and Vyeboom area. These caused great concern, as the harvest is in full swing. CEO of Agri Western Cape, Jannie Strydom, says Grabouw is an important area for fruit production in the country.
“This time of the year, producers are concerned about hail damage. Storm winds usually occur in the winter and when the fruit has already been harvested and the trees are at rest. The Grabouw area is a very important fruit producing region, not just for our province, but the country as a whole and it’s a pity that producers had to suffer damage,” Strydom told sabcnews.com.