Slim pickings threaten livelihood of plum exporters

Exports decline by 26%
RAY SMUTS
THE ARTIFICIAL suppression of prices by overseas supermarket groups coupled with the exchange rate is making it virtually impossible to export economically, warns a prominent Western Cape deciduous farmer. He adds that if farmers have to make further cuts it will not only have a negative effect on quality but be tantamount to “suicide”. It’s been an unhappy season for plum growers, to say the least. Extreme cold weather hit orchards last September, leading to a loss of some R60 million for the country and impacting heavily on farm productivity and job opportunities. Inclement weather aside, the unfavourable exchange rate contributed further to losses, the price per carton delivered to quayside (that obtained by the producer) dropping from R32 in 2003 to R30 in 2004 and 2005. The export of plums declined sharply this year, 26% down on the 2004/05 season. Expectations are that only 5.6 million cartons of 5.25kg each will be landed on overseas markets, valued at an estimated R170 million.