The first ever container of South African table grapes shipped to Japan is en-route to Tokyo, marking an end to a market access saga spanning some 30 years.
The consignment, containing 20 pallets of Barlinka grapes, left Cape Town at the start of April and is due to arrive in Japan in early May after a 12-day sterilisation programme and almost four weeks at sea.
Though small in volume, the container represents a breakthrough for the South African grape industry, which has been negotiating Japanese access over three decades.
Grower Francois Rossouw of Mooigezicht Estates in South Africa's Western Cape, who produced the fruit now en-route to Japan, believes this inaugural export will lead to wider access for South African grapes to this important market.
'We are sure that Barlinka will pave the way for the others `varieties` to follow,” he told Fruitnet.com.
Barlinka, a seeded variety, is currently the only South African grape variety allowed into Japan under the present import protocol. But RSA growers are rapidly replacing it with other newer cultivars.
Sarel Joubert of leading South African produce exporter Capespan warned earlier in the year that access to Japan (granted this year) would mean nothing unless other grape varieties were allowed into the country.
Mr Rossouw believes the current protocol will be extended, giving Japanese consumers the opportunity to sample a range of South African varieties, including Crimson Seedless, Autumn Royal, Midknight Seedless, Starlight, Sugraone and Scharlotta Seedless.
