Grape growers in the northern region managed to get a good portion of their crop loaded for the UK and Europe ahead of Christmas and there’s plenty of interest, says Francois Myburgh, executive marketing manager of Bet-el Fruit.
The last of these grapes left last week. He will be closely watching the reaction of the market to the arrival in Rotterdam and London of two large vessels loaded with grapes in week 2.
Peru plays a minor role in the European grape market this year, focusing their attention instead on North America.
India’s been very early with their grapes and with the lowering of their freight tariffs, the country means stiff competition to Western Cape early green grapes in Europe and the Middle East. The start of premium varieties like Sweet Globe and Autumncrisp® is what distinguishes South Africa from India’s Thompson.
The grape harvest has not yet commenced in the Western Cape’s Berg River and Hex River areas, but in the Trawal area they’re excited about the early crop, Francois notes, especially after last year’s harvest abruptly cut short by uncharacteristic summer rain.
For now, in all of the production areas the harvest is on schedule and from what they’re seeing, Francois observes, weight and berry size are good.
As per usual for this time of the year, with or without Peru (although it’s the latter this year), red grapes are in high demand.
“Red is very short. There’s no market segment that doesn’t have a need for red grapes at the moment. It’s usual for this time of the year – there are not that many early red cultivars left.”
An early red grape that substitutes Flame Seedless is still a gap in the industry’s calendar.
Shipping: so far so good
As grape exporters they have direct exposure to the port of Cape Town, but the arrival of seven cranes from Los Angeles is heartening and so far, so good, he says.
“Our grapes are also leaving through Durban with no problems, despite what one hears about the harbour. I think the delays might affect dry cargo coming into the country to a greater extent,” he remarks. “Some of our producers ordered tractors which have been stuck at Durban for over a month now.”
He fervently hopes that shipping lines don’t increase their rates again as a result of the ineffectiveness of South Africa’s ports.
“From what we’re seeing with the weight of fruit and the berry size, we’re pretty happy so far,” he says. “The exchange rate is in our favour and production-wise, it’s looking good.”
For more information:
Francois Myburgh
Bet-el Fruit
Tel: +27 21 863 3146 or +27 21 863 3147
Email: info@betelfruits.co.za
https://www.betelfruits.com/