Last season saw a record crop for raisins at Carpe Diem, a major producer in South Africa. Gog van der Colff from the company said that this year's harvest brought in 56,000 tons, the highest ever.
Van der Colff puts this big harvest down to replanting of old vines with new rootstocks and bad weather which affected the table grape harvest. This had a small influence on the market for raisins and sultanas but normally the table grape harvest does not affect it.
The demand for sultanas and raisins has remained stable in last years, 25% of production goes to the South African domestic market with the rest exported to the European, North American and Middle Eastern markets.
The main cultivars which Carpe Diem use for sultanas and raisins are Thompson seedless and Merbein. The crop is completely harvested by hand and everything is dried naturally with the sun or natural airflow. "Due to this we have very high quality product. All our farms and facilities are Globalgap, HACCP and BRC accredited. Our packing facilities are also fitted with the best technology in camera, laser and x-ray sorting," explains van der Colff.
For more information:
Gog van der Colff
Carpe Diem Estate
Tel: +27 54 332 2901
Email: [email protected]
www.carpediemfarms.co.za
