South African stonefruit exporters are waiting for the last i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed before they can load out for the first time to China. For prunes whose orchards dwindled along with drying and juicing opportunities, developing a market for fresh fruit in China could make all the difference; it might perhaps even induce farmers to establish prune orchards again, remarks Stefan du Plessis, Icon Fruit director.
Cherry plums stand to benefit as well: South Africa is two to three weeks ahead of Chile. "I think we can land a better product than Chile," he says, explaining that South Africa is much closer and the fruit doesn't have to be picked quite so green to account for a long sea voyage.
Icon Fruit holds an exclusive license to the Zaiger cherry plums (which are not just a tiny plum), along with interspecific cultivars, of which they're the main grower-exporter in the country. The cherry plum harvest is starting now, until the middle of January. "If the protocol isn't signed off on soon, that's an opportunity we'll lose. Stonefruit doesn't have an awful lot of destinations," Du Plessis remarks. "That's why we were so happy when the US opened four years ago, and we're very excited about China."
A visit to China earlier this year to scope the possibilities for stonefruit convinced Du Plessis and colleague Wynand Hanekom of the demand for South African stonefruit.
© Icon Fruit Stefan du Plessis of Icon Fruit with Sissie Liu, Nicole Liu and Winders Jiang from the Dalian Yidu Group, China, and Wynand Hanekom of Icon Fruit
"We're looking forward to sending it to mainland China"
Upon their return, they set to developing a Year of the Horse-inspired carton for markets with large Chinese populations. Back in China, buyers told them what they preferred: no Chinese characters on the carton, which had to look fully foreign. A carton that can be closed was another request to prevent in-transit pilfering.
Two months ago, they already booked airfreight space for the cherry plums, but as the final go-ahead for China eludes them, they've been postponing it. "We're hoping for final approval next week at the latest," Hanekom says. For the moment, they're sending the cherry plums to Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. "We're really looking forward to sending it to mainland China too," Du Plessis says.
The airfreight season to the Middle East had started later than usual, with the last remnants from the Northern Hemisphere stonefruit season. Apricot volumes are now clearing, and prices are stabilising, to the benefit of South African apricots, whose volumes have dropped below initial expectations since the finish of the Imperial harvest.
"Saudi Arabia is a very interesting case. That market is growing at a phenomenal rate," Hanekom says. "Consumers have become very westernized over a short period. I can remember last year they were still buying stonefruit by box, now they're asking for it in punnets. Their consumers have started buying with their eyes, not unlike Western consumers."
© Icon Fruit Icon Fruit's commemorative Year of the Horse carton
Early start stretches sales weeks
People are talking of temperatures of five degrees hotter over various parts of the Western Cape Boland, ever since October, Du Plessis says, lighting a fire under picking teams.
"Fruit is ripening very quickly. Some of the cultivars could have benefited from hanging for a longer time on the tree to gain more size. It's been a very warm October, followed by a very warm November and a very warm December."
Adds his colleague Wynand Hanekom: the flip side of quick ripening is winning additional sales weeks, and it spreads out the arrivals. "During the 2024/20225, we started later with the stonefruit. We haven't had the bottleneck of last year; the fruit's been well-spread. Apricots have had a good run."
Their local retail clients indicate that peach and nectarine demand in Gauteng has been subdued while that region goes through a protracted period of rainy weather.
For more information:
Stefan du Plessis
Icon Fruit
Tel: +27 21 860 1800
Email: [email protected]
https://www.iconfruit.co.za/
