Total South African table grape export figures up to week four are running well ahead of last year's volumes, according to new estimates, and, if this trend continues, the country will ship significantly more grapes than in 2011.
The South African Table Grape Industry’s (SATI) latest forecast put the total export crop between 49.4m and 51.6m cartons. However, the harvest in northern regions and the Orange River have already exceeded the forecast, and with the mid-season and late regions still some way before the end of the season, the total may far exceed the forecast.
The figures also indicate that South Africa has shipped many more grapes to the UK and Northern Europe than at the same time last year, while shipments to the Far East are more or less on-par with 2011 and exports to the Middle East are running behind last year's figures. By the end of week four, the UK received almost 2m cartons more than at the same time in 2011, and Northern Europe almost 2.7m cartons more.
Last year saw a dramatic increase in shipments to the east, while those to traditional markets declined. The early Chinese New Year may well be the major reason why more early-season grapes have been shipped to traditional markets in 2012. Meanwhile, growers are also nervous about the fall out of late arrivals for the Chinese New Year period, which may well depress prospects in the Far East for some time.
By the end of week four the Orange River had already exceeded the SATI forecast with volumes expected to draw to a close at the end of week five. The total Orange River crop now stands at 16.6m cartons, which exceeds both of the previous two season’s crops.
Recent hail and rain in the Hex River region have slowed down packing, but the total crop from this region is still estimated at between 17.3m-17.7m cartons. Up to week four only 2.8m cartons have been packed in the region, and the harvest will continue until April.
