General prospects are looking good, writes Ray Smuts
THE HUMBLE apple could well be elevated to stardom this year by taking top honours in the category Best Export Performer.
Capespan logistics expert Dr Dawie Ferreira says the first months of deciduous production have given growers cause for much greater optimism than last year - a sentiment he shares.
Fruit producers always tend toward optimism and quite rightly so for without optimism one should not be in this line, he said.
Apples are looking surprisingly good. Growers are talking of a vintage year with large fruit of good eating quality, Ferreira, executive director: operations, told FTW last week.
Orange River seedless grapes yielded 7,5m export cartons rather than the projected 12m cartons due to weather conditions. Interestingly enough, while fruit size was smaller, higher sugar content made for better eating quality....and better prices.
While plum production has not been quite up to expectation, again due to adverse weather, prospects look good for pear exports. It's early days to predict how citrus will fare but Spanish and Moroccan soft citrus exports are down this year which ought to create opportunities for good quality soft citrus exports from South Africa.
Ferreira is bullish about Capespan increasing market share this year, pointing to the R5 billion a year marketing organisation's gains in grapes, stone fruit and pears thus far.
Commenting on last month's R100 million acquisition by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company of a 50% stake in the portside cooling facilities of Capespan subsidiary Fresh Produce Terminals (FPT) Ferreira said he believed the choice of partner was sound given the cordial relations that have existed for several years between Capespan and Mersey, operator of a number of ports including Sheerness - Britain's major fruit port - Liverpool and more recently, the Port of Maputo in Mozambique.
Apart from cooling terminals in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, FPT also operates a facility in Maputo which will be the first to see an improvement.
Ferreira says approval has been granted for expenditure of R2 million to increase pallet capacity by 1 500 in time for the coming citrus season.
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