Poor European crop creates opportunities for SA exporters

LOCAL FRUIT exporters are set to capitalise on the misfortunes of Europe and the UK in the coming season. According to Tru- Cape’s Charles Hughes, the European crop overall is down by 10% due to inclement weather, the Polish crop all but decimated by frost, France is redeveloping its orchards and England has been hammered by floods. What is more, the pear crop has decreased 5% in the US, the world’s second largest producer – all in all a negative scenario for exporting countries. “We will send as much as we can, but at the end of the day, what we send is what the market will bear,” said Hughes. With China’s economy booming and the populous land in high gear as it prepares for the 2008 Olympics, Hughes believes the country will want to showcase its products, fruit included. For this reason he does not think China will export much during its current season. The China export protocol for apples to South Africa is in place, as are those for citrus and grapes, (to China) but the protocol permitting South Africa to export apples and pears sadly is not. Hughes, who was in China recently, told FTW he had more than a gut feeling that signing the outstanding protocol was simply not going to happen because the Chinese were caught up with a preponderance of issues such as food safety. Nevertheless, he feels the non-signing of the agreement with South Africa is a "missed opportunity". When it comes about though, he expects outgoing apple and pear volumes to be relatively low.