The outer row of a Packham orchard in Wolseley was scorched during a recent fire, one of many fires across the Western Cape this season, but the damage was kept negligible by the efforts of the firefighters and regional fire associations, says Christo Strydom of Wolfpack.
The whole province is on extreme high fire alert.
The pear harvest has been exceptionally early, following the same trend they already saw with the early stonefruit.
“We’ve finished harvesting Packhams and it’s 14 February – usually we’re in the peak of our crop this time of the year.”
It’s not a record crop, and sunburn on pears around Ceres and Wolseley will take its toll (temperatures have inched past 40°C across the province over past weeks).
“The demand from the market is good. It’s closely associated with the spillover supply from Europe's previous crop. It’s just to land the fruit in good order – you can ask any exporter, packhouse manager, grower: they’ll all tell you the biggest threat is getting produce safely through the harbour.”
Trading with hands tied behind their backs
They are trading with their hands tied behind their backs by the state-run ports. “And you can’t do it all by air freight. That’s the single biggest frustration we have at the moment.”
They, too, have sent fruit to Gqeberha’s port instead of Cape Town. The irony is the vessel then sails past Cape Town again on its way to Rotterdam. The costs of trucks to ports in other provinces are enormous, while empty containers can’t come in to replenish stock.
“As someone told me recently: every little bit of jam is scraped off by these enormous costs.”
For more information:
Christo Strydom
Wolfpack
Email: christo@wolfpackpears.co.za