3 July 2017 – The continued drought conditions experienced in the major pome fruit production areas has impacted negatively on pome fruit export volumes. Read more…
Hortgro News
3 July 2017 – Adjustment for SA Pome export estimate as impact of weather conditions become a reality.
Click here to view our product brochureWestern Cape drought has already caused a $38m loss in grapes
26 May 2017 – The Provincial disaster declaration will be used as a further motivation to request drought relief funding from the National Government.
In March, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture estimated that R96 million was needed to support farmers in drought affected areas for five months.
Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Opportunities, said stock farmers, who farm with livestock, and irrigation farmers, who use irrigation systems to water their crops, have been among the worst affected.
“We’ve seen a decline in the volume of wine grapes harvested, in part due to a lack of irrigation water. This will result in an estimated R500 million loss in that industry.”
“Current water restrictions for irrigation farmers vary from 30% to 100% in the Berg/Riviersonderend water system. These restrictions can have a serious impact on the crop yields in 2017/18. It means very little water will be available for the very important post-harvest irrigation period. During post-harvest irrigation, water is needed to move the fertiliser into the soil in preparation for the next crop.”
Minister Winde said the Western Cape Department of Agriculture had allocated R80 million for drought relief through reprioritisation of the equitable share budget since 2015/16. These funds have supported farmers with the purchasing of fodder for their animals.
“During the irrigation season we also provided irrigators with near real time data on the actual crop water use and water shortages experienced by their crops through the FruitLook project. Farmers can access accurate information on the water needs of their crops, field by field, at any given time. Using only satellite data and weather station data, we can tell farmers how much water their crops used in the previous week and whether the crops experienced any water deficits.”
source: allafrica.com
Fresh Plaza News
28 April 2017 – OVERVIEW GLOBAL TABLE GRAPE MARKET Read more…
Fresh Plaza News
24 April 2017 – Saturated apple markets mean difficult year for South African exports. Read more…
Fresh Plaza News
South African Sharon Fruit season underway. Read more…
Fresh Plaza News
Overview Global Apple Market. Read more…
Overview Global Pear Market
In the northern hemisphere, there are currently pears from storage available. Last month, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) published the updated stock figures. In Europe, stocks are lower than last year, but in the US there are more pears available for sale. In these countries, producers are already preparing for the next season, although it’s still too early in most countries to offer accurate prospects. Read more…
South African table grape season well on track
South Africa’s table grape producers in the Orange River region have finished picking, as have growers in the northern provinces. In the Western Cape growers have finished picking their white varieties and are focusing on their red and black varieties. Read more …
“Phenomenal growth” in South African blueberry industry
The South African blueberry industry is in a period of robust growth, due to high demand from the UK and the EU for blueberries in particular, as well as nascent domestic interest. It has been bolstered by a similar (if earlier) growth spurt in Australia, where many of the new cultivars used in the South African blueberry industry were developed. Read more…