Dole South Africa has released details about its new series of grape cultivars to be marketed under the Mando brand.
Dole South Africa has said it now has 900 potential new grape varieties in its breeding programme in South Africa and increasing volumes of varieties which have been released are now being exported under the Mando brand.
Lincense agreements have also been concluded to grow of these varieties at international level, with Egypt one of the countries concerned.
In a statement released in Paris, Jean-Christophe Juilliard, president of Dole Europe, said an investment in new varieties to keep offering the best possible produce is a key strategic corner stone allowing which allows Dole to differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive market.
Juilliard said that although the increased sales are mainly due to Asian and Middle Eastern markets, Europe has recently become an opportunity to expand. He said: “The sales figures show the growing interest of the market in these varieties: volumes have more than doubled over the past three years.
“Dole South Africa has made the most of its know-how to develop grapes that are complying with European consumers’ newest preferences.”
The Mando brand has been developed from the words Manchester and Dole. Dole SA first acquired the exclusive marketing rights to the Manchester varieties in 2004 and three years later bought the full ownership rights for these varieties, along with the majority share in the remaining Manchester crossings.
According to the statement there are now around 900 new potential varieties at the breeding facility in Worcester in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Amongst the varieties which are already being exported are a black seedless grape called Desert, a white seeded variety called Moonballs and a red seeded grape called Alpha Red.
Desert and Moonballs have so far been grown mainly in South Africa, but Dole South Africa says it has recently finalized master licenses in various countries, such as Egypt, for the growing of these varieties. More importantly, it says, the development of these new varieties is now possible in South America.
Dole South Africa says it firmly believes that one of the benefits of the new varieties for producers will be to offer exclusive access to new plant material that will be more cost-effective to produce and which will deliver increase yields. The company claims this is due to the fact that the varieties offer lower labour and pesticide costs, has greater rain resistance, deliver higher yields per vine and require less preparation costs.
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