South Africa: Very good brix on stonefruit

It’s been a dry year in South Africa, and despite many growers having trouble with the weather, Bonaire has reported that their crops are doing quite well. “I was very happy with the size and sweetness of the Peaches and Nectarines. The brix are very good this year so in general we’re quite happy with the crop,” says James Worsley, of Bonaire.

“We had a bit of a problem with the plums because it was quite a dry year, so they didn't quite get to the size that I was hoping for, that's on the African Rose variety. But it seems like the varieties from week 1 onwards should begin to gain size,” explains Worsley.

Bonaire’s main markets for stonefruit are Europe, the Middle East, the Far east. With regards to citrus fruit, Wolsley says: “what we’ve done is allocated certain orchards on our farms to certain markets, so if we know that we’ll get more quality fruit out of one block than the other, then we’ll allocate that block to one market. That’s how we do it on our farm.”

For more information:
James Worsley
Bonaire
Tel: +27 (0) 21 876 2250
Email: james@bonaire.co.za
www.bonaire.co.za