Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Increased table grape harvest expected for 2018/2019
The table grape industry is expected to harvest a good-sized crop this season, with upper and lower limits about 1,8% and 11% higher respectively than for the 2017/2018 season, according to the South African Table Grape Industry’s (SATI) first crop estimate for the season.
Chairperson of SATI, Fanie Naudé, said the 2018/2019 estimate was between
63,2 million and 70,1 million 4,5kg-equivalent cartons.
The previous highest intake volume was 67 million cartons during the 2016/2017 season.
The increase was attributed to new plantings and new cultivars, as well as the good winter rain that had been received to date, Naudé said. The industry was confident that it would return to a steady growth curve, as newly planted, higher-yielding varieties and a significant number of new hectares had come into full production, he said.
According to Naudé, the earliest production regions in the northern provinces were the only ones expected to yield a larger harvest compared with the previous season.
The Orange River and Berg River regions were expected to return to normal crop volumes, while the Hex River region was also expected to return to average production volumes in line with the industry growth trend.
He added that vineyards in the Olifants River region, which were hardest hit by the drought, seemed to have recovered well following the good winter rain and it was expected that the region would return to pre-drought volumes.
“Overall, the quality is very good. Barring any weather issues such as heatwaves, along with the availability of enough irrigation water, the crop will be good.” – Jeandré van der Walt