Vitafresh's South African butternut squash has got off to a good start, harvesting and packing started in week two, and the first containers are starting to arrive in Europe and the UK at the moment.
"The volumes are coming along nicely," said Daniel Badger from Vitafresh. "We are heading into the main part of the season, and volumes should increase going into March."
Daniel said a big storm in the Western Cape last week did affect a small part of the crop, as the strong wind turned the plants over, damaging the butternut.
© VitaFresh
"We expect the sizes in the main season to be bigger than those in the early crop. The bigger sizes are more suited for the European market, so most of them will go there, while the smaller sizes will go to the Middle East.
"Demand from Europe has been a bit slow so far as the Spanish season went on longer and people didn't want to commit to early volumes, but I think the weather may start to affect production and some growers may finish earlier than expected."
Last year, Vitafresh exported 100 containers; this season, they hope to increase that to 150.
"UK and Europe are our biggest markets, while our fastest-growing market is the Middle East; we are also growing volumes to the Canadian market."
© VitaFresh
This season sees the launch of Vitafresh's own brand of butternut squash; the first packing under the brand will take place next week.
For more information:
Daniel Badger
Vitafresh Exports
Tel: +44 (0) 7944461019
[email protected]
