Perfect stonefruit weather reigns in the Western Cape, and although plums are a size smaller, the eating quality and Brix are on a higher level than last year. Peaches and nectarines, due to fruit size, usually lead the way to the UK and then Europe in mid-November, followed by plums nearly a month later.
The season started slightly later with an extremely empty market. The Northern Hemisphere's Stonefruit consumption in its winter is more or less a third of the summer consumption, but there will always be an opportunity for good quality South African stonefruit, believes Annelie Haumann, founder and director of Stems Fruit. The exporter owns no farms nor packhouses but sees their role as connecting (hence the name) the grower with the market. Stems Fruit is one of South Africa's main nectarine (and fresh fig) exporters.
William Bourbon-Leftley, farmer, inspecting newly picked plums in the packhouse with Annelie Haumann, Stems Fruit CEO
"Smaller plums could place supply to Europe and the Middle East under pressure, as size to a big extent guides where you put the fruit," Haumann explains. She says the company's strategy centres around a small, dedicated group of 22 growers, only exporting stonefruit (except cherries) and eight fig growers. "The big plus of growing the business with the current grower base is that we can regulate our supply and maintain our quality within our packhouses throughout the season. Should there be a window of opportunity, that the current growers cannot cover, we will approach new supply."
Stonefruit genetics present a baffling array of cultivars. Stems' growers rely on evaluation results, for future plantings, obtained from their trial blocks (representing the respective production areas) dotted across the Western Cape. "With access to some of the world's best breeding programs, and a full-time evaluator our trial blocks contribute to the financial sustainability of our growers."
Cultivars allocated according to receiver's requirements
Most of their growers have their own packhouses. Fruit is accumulated and containerized at three depots in Paarl, Ceres, and Robertson.
"The quicker we can harvest, pack and force cool the product the better the quality. We focus on the top end of the market, with receivers being very specific regarding variety, size, coloration, and brix. Supplying UK retail for their ripe-and-ready lines Stems has a dedicated team focusing on the post-harvest handling of this fruit, at source to ensure optimum quality on the UK shelf. The UK leads the way with stonefruit ripening – more on peach and nectarine than on plums.
No costs are spared on the post-harvest treatment of their fruit, in an attempt to extend shelf life, where the R&D team seems fit. As fruit is a living organism different varieties respond differently to some of the post-harvest treatments, so trials are done to test the effectiveness before commercially applied, given the costs.
The South African stonefruit industry requires efficient logistics to ensure quality. This year, commitment from Portnet and the relevant shipping lines has been witnessed with shipping options, including reefer and conventional vessels, available out of Cape Town, ensuring timely and reliable arrivals, she says. "While wind delays present challenges at the port, the ability to load onto conventional vessels at FPT port helps mitigate this issue, allowing operations to proceed smoothly."
For sustainability and cost reasons, most of their clients prefer sea- to airfreight. All new cultivars are therefore evaluated according to their ability to withstand a sea journey (even if some of the UK retail requires airfreight throughout the season on certain commodities to guarantee eating quality).
USA presents stonefruit opportunities
Two years ago, South Africa got its foot in the door when the Chilean stonefruit trade with the United States was temporarily halted on phytosanitary grounds. Feedback indicates that US receivers appreciate the eating quality of our South African stonefruit she says, which is mostly plums.
"The required steri-treatment is very harsh on nectarines, but by adjusting our postharvest handling protocols, we are confident that we'll succeed in delivering good quality nectarines to the US this season. We believe that there are several opportunities for South African plums and nectarines that deliver on eating quality and shelf life in the USA. Last season only 10% of our plums got shipped to the US. I expect these numbers to increase."
However, she points out that they will never pull out of the UK and the European Union, which have supported them very loyally for the past 26 years after deregulation and is a very important market for them.
"India's high import duties stifled stonefruit trade from South Africa in the past, but with good economic prospects it is starting to become an increasingly attractive market for us," she observes. Negotiations are underway for market access for South African stonefruit, excluding cherries to China.
Changes in stonefruit sector
The company's export estimate for the current season is 4.8 million standard cartons of which nectarines occupy first place, followed by plums, peaches, and then apricots.
"With access to new stone fruit genetics a lot has happened over the past few years," she recounts. "Apricot export volumes dropped dramatically, and there was an extremely small window for apricots. Now there are some really nice varieties coming through which we're very excited about, especially the new blush-type genetics."
Similarly, demand for the older dessert-type peach varieties grown in South African orchards has fallen away. Newer varieties have breathed new life into the category and, Haumann observes, that they can clearly see a bigger demand for peaches.
"The offer on plums keeps getting better and better,' she remarks. "The bulk of our South African plum offer originated from the Agricultural Research Council's breeding program, but now with additional access to some of the best breeding programs in the world we tend to see more Interspecific plums, dark skin red flesh varieties (they're enjoying popularity due to their antioxidants), dapples, and so forth. – very exciting!"
With a complete selection of yellow and white flesh round nectarine varieties now available in South Africa, nectarines have been thriving and naturally drawing in new competitors.For more information:
Stems Fruit
Tel: +27 21 860 3400
Email: [email protected]
https://www.stemsfruit.co.za/