South Africa: Bell pepper prices recover

Prices for bell peppers are picking up this week after a period in which, unusually, red peppers obtained lower prices than green peppers due to high volumes of the former. 

Most pepper growers in Limpopo Province, where the crop is widely cultivated during the winter months, found that peppers coloured very quickly this season as a result of high temperatures. The harvest was thus forced into a period shortened by as much as a month in some cases, leading to high volumes earlier at the market.

Now volumes are somewhat down, especially in yellow bell peppers, and the status quo is returning regarding pricing on green versus coloured bell peppers. At times the price of coloured peppers is four to five times as high as that of green peppers. 

Prices are substantially better than last week, a market agent confirms.

Some months ago volumes were low due to pest pressure. Late summer rain caused a surge in powdery mildew in bell peppers in the north of the country, where some growers say it’s worse than it has ever been. “The powdery mildew was terrible this year. This year the conditions for powdery mildew were just perfect, moist and warm enough,” explains Tinus Venter of Janlouis Boerdery to the west of Waterpoort.

Harry Naudé of seed company K2 Seed Marketing reckons 40 to 45% of bell pepper plantings in the Mooketsi/Polokwane area in Limpopo Province were affected by powdery mildew at the beginning of the season. There are reports of whole open land fields whose foliage was blighted, leaving the fruit exposed to sunburn which was a factor this winter in bell pepper production, which is unusual (and the reason why open land bell pepper production in Limpopo Province in general ceases from late November to February). Pollination was also affected.

In general, green bell peppers are cultivated in open lands and coloured peppers under net houses, which limit sunburn damage.

Now, in late winter, dusty and dry conditions are encouraging the emergence of red spider mite and thrips.

A general theme amongst Limpopo vegetable farmers is the low rate of return on vegetable production, a function of high production and transport costs and low consumer demand, with many growers stating that they’re considering reducing their vegetable production to rather focus on fruit or nut production for which there are export opportunities.

“If vegetables were a good proposition, more farmers around Hoedspruit would be planting it,” says Jaco Malan, one of few remaining farmers in this major citrus and mango production area to still focus on vegetables. “The main factors are labour costs, because vegetables are very labour-intensive, and its unpredictability. When you plant something, you have no idea what price you’ll be getting for it.”

In the Mooketsi area, FreshPlaza was told, there’s been a reduction of more than 90% in the number of vegetable farmers over the past thirty years, partly the result of consolidation in the vegetable sector by large-scale producers.

For more information:

Tinus Venter

Tel: +27 82 472 0111

Email: tinus@janlouis.net

Jaco Malan

Tel: +27 82 427 2705

Email: jacomalan3@gmail.com

Harry Naudé

Tel: +27 83 305 3587

Email: harry@seedmarketing.co.za